Over the Edge and Over Again
by jammiexdodger
Summary: Having failed to reach Davy Jones' Locker with the rest of his crew, Captain Hector Barbossa finds himself lost within a world he doesn't understand. But despite the odds not playing in his favour, and having no knowledge of the world around him, he vows to make it back to his own. Somehow.
1. Over the Edge

**Over the Edge**

"Barbossa, ahead!"

"Aye, we're good and lost now."

The self proclaimed Captain responded to Mr Turner with a jovial expression on his face. The rest of the crews minds were nary the wiser the what lay ahead, but he knew what to expect. Mostly. The trip had been arduous, not to mention bloody cold. But if all was to go according to plan, he knew what had to be done.

"Lost?" Ah, there it is, he thought. The fear of mortality. Miss Swann's features were more confused than afraid, but a reaction he expected none the less. Her composure during the voyage had impressed him to say the least, but she was still a child compared to him when it came to the sea.

He shot a look back at her, madness almost evident in his eyes.

"For certain you have to be lost to find a place as can't be found. Elseways, everyone would know where it was."

Mr Gibbs promptly looked overboard on the port side, the change in motions the ship catching his attention, not to mentions Barbossa's questionable dictations. It was about to get interesting.

"We're gaining speed." There it was again. Barbossa admitted to himself that he wasn't completely aware of the events to unfold, but he had the capacity to enjoy it more than the rest of the crew.

"Aye."

The rest of the crew began to eye each other in worry. Will even more so, concerned with the glint in Barbossa's eyes. Realising he was ill concerned with no one but himself, Will commanded to the others.  
"To stations!" No one hesitated to agree with him. The worries for their supposed Captains sanity put to the back of their minds. More than half the men were not going to die for a man they barely knew. He was the supplier of payment, and the supplier of directions; nothing more. Those more familiar with the Captains actions still followed the order, loyalty ever present but not taking front runner over their own lives.

"All hands to stations!" The order wasn't needed. Every man and woman doing their part to keep steady. There were captains for a reason, however. Commands needed to be given and crews organised, despite Barbossas apparent lack of will to do so. As such, Will took it upon himself to take charge.  
"Rudder full. Hard aport! Gather way." In the hectic mass of pirates upon the Hai Pengs deck, Barbossa finally started to take command. Albeit, not in a way anyone wanted him to.

"Nay! Belay that!" His voice almost spat as he ordered the crew. Many of whom looked on in confusion.

"Let her run straight and true!"

Sauntering toward the front of the ship, the rest of the crew followed suit. But those already there could not believe their eyes. The world just...stopped. A cascade of water over flowed from what was apparently the edge of the world, the darkness of the sky continuing on behind it. Nothing but a vast empty space. A void. No stars, no clouds, no horizons. Nothing lay beyond the waterfall at worlds end. And the Sai Peng was heading for it.

Will was the first to approach Barbossa with the fate he had given them. Anger evident in his voice.

"You've doomed us all."

"Don't be so unkind." He spoke directly to Will, a hint of faux hurt in his voice. "You may not survive to pass this way again, and these be the last friendly words you'll hear."

Will had had enough listening to him. Taking charge, he continued to bellow orders to the crew, none of which spoke against him.

"Tie her off. Hard aport." The pirates knew when to listen to those above them, but did so in vain: the current too strong for the ship to pull out off.

Barbossa just stood there, an aura of confidence and enjoyment radiating from him. The rest of the hands on the deck scampering left and right around him like insects, futilely attempting to throw the ship off course.

The drastic aport turn seemed to help their cause, but all it did was change the direction the ship was facing, the current seemingly not bothered by the crews attempts at saving their hides.

"Hold on!"

This was brilliant. They were all fighting for their lives when faced with something new, while he could enjoy it for what it was. An adventure. Beyond the falls was a world many sailors saw, a world many men and women were destined to travel to. A world few ever came back from.

But he would. Sure, he'd have to bring back Jack, he thought, but there was nary a thing that didn't hold consequence of some sort. Being a pirate had taught him at least that much.  
"Strike your colours, you blooming cockroaches." His words ended in hearty laughter, but it didn't matter. The rest of the crew had little reason to listen to him. They were falling into the abyss, which many deemed more important. The water seemed to fall forever, never stopping. Just...darkness

– – – –

The sudden burst of water would have been enough to wake many of the crew. The sudden appearance of the sea below them, compared nothingness at least, was a pretty drastic change. Despite the water being present, it was very shallow. How Will had been unhurt from the fall, let alone one into shallow waters, was beyond him. Understanding he could, in fact simply stand up, he did so and took in the surroundings. Many of the others were doing the same; Raggetti seemed to be paddling for dear life, much to Will and the others amusement.

There was land. Not far away either. Close in fact. Standing in the shallow waters was doing nothing for them, but it was common sense to head for land rather than stay in it. Many of the Chinese men were already wading through the water, and thought it idealistic to follow suite.

The sand was white and clean, no dirtied rocks or sparse pieces of seaweed anywhere to be seen. The same could not be said for their ship. Or what he assumed was there ship, anyway. Wooden frames and timber littered the beach nearest the water, but not nearly enough to constitute the whole of the vessel. Finally reaching dry land, he looked around at the men, and two women, around him. He hadn't bothered to memorise many of the Chinese, but from what he could tell the rest of the crew were present and accounted for.

Pintel proceeded to ruin that for him. "Where's Barbossa?"

Barbossa continued to fall through the darkness. The ship was gone. Not that he had made much effort to hold on. His knowledge of the worlds end was limited, but Tia Dalma had assured him all ended up in the locker one way or another, so his worry was cast aside for now. He had grabbed his hat though. He liked to look good when he was mocking Jack. The nothingness was fading though. He didn't know how, or why, but he could quickly feel it becoming...something.

"Birds?" The sounds of chirping echoed around him. There's no reason anything living should be in the locker, let alone birds. There'd be no point. Jones wouldn't collect the souls of mere animals. They were not worth his time.

But as clouds approached, and the darkness faded around them into a painted mixture of grey and white, they were there. Birds. He could hear them. There may have been no more than a few, but he could hear them. But they were not his immediate concern. The clouds meant there was a sky, and a sky meant he was somewhere, which also meant that somewhere was very, very high.

He could feel the air hit him as he fell, holding onto his hat for dear life. The clouds were clearing, and he could see a bright blue sky on all sides. Out of the unnaturally thick clouds, he could see the world below, coming ever closer. Too close.

"Damn it!" He continued to yell at the top of his voice, as if it would somehow help the situation. Not that it would. He was closing in on a small forest and despite the buildings he saw from the sky, there was no one nearby. Bracing for something that could out right kill him seemed pointless, but with nothing better to do, he braced for impact against the thick trees.

Upon making contact, he quickly realised one thing. It bloody hurt. The small branches came fast and quick, whipping his face and hands. Thick grunts and pained sounds came from his mouth has he made his way through the foliage towards the ground below. Despite the forest apparently being dense, the trees were not as tall as he had thought, and the branches not as thick. He soon hit the bottom by way of a large bush than continues to soften his fall. Despite his wavered strength and weakened resolve, his slowly and drunkenly made his way out of the bush. Once sure he was able to stand, he looked over himself for further injuries.

Placing his hands over his face and different part of his body in quick succession, and giving his visible skin a once over, he deemed himself acceptable. His hat was in good condition, as were his sword and pistol. His hands were covered in scratches, and he had a small gash on is forehead. He gave a confident smile in knowing what he'd just survived, and laughed, as if to mock the the universe itself for trying to down him.

"Nothin' worth cryin' about."

He then cast his eyes skyward, trying to see where he fell from. He could see beyond the trees through a small open canopy, and could also clearly see the clouds which he had original fell through.

"What the...?" The clouds were barely above the trees! He wasn't even that high to begin with? The clouds weren't exactly interweaving with the trees, but he could at least tell they weren't that high in the sky. With his previous dive with death now seeming less impressive, he gave an an exasperated groan and glanced around for anything to tell him where he was.

T'was definitely a forest, to be sure. Dense and thick. Green burst from every corner and, he was sure, every shade of every colour was represented by a plethora of different flowers. Leaves of differing sizes and shades clung to the sides of every tree. However, it was far from a paradise. Light had very little presence, spare for the canopy above. And creatures could be heard growling and screeching from beyond the foliage. The sounds came from every direction, with no way of telling how far away, or even what they were. It was musty, dank and the trees spread out in every direction.

"This can't be a good thing." Barbossa rubbed his forehead in frustration, wincing at the gash he forgot he had. He was lost. Tired, frustrated and lost.

Suddenly realising he was, in fact, alone as well as lost, he wondered what befell the rest of the crew. They were no where to be seen from the sky, let alone the ground. Perhaps they all perished in the abyss?

"No. This isn't the Locker."

Of course, he was sure of it. This wasn't the Locker. It was a forest. A living forest. Nothing like what he expected, or what Calypso had described to him for that matter. Meaning he was the only one who didn't make it there properly.

"Great. Havin' successfully gotten lost, I've also givin' Jack free reign of the bloody ship when they find 'im!" This was not looking good. Not for his well being, nor for his pride.

"At least he's out of me way." As much as he needed to save the man, he loathed him all the same. Not to mention Jack had killed him once before. The absence of another Jack disheartened him, but seeing as it had survived without him before, he was none too worried for it

Rustling from the bushes behind him brought him back to his senses. Something was near. And from the sound it was making, it was big. Quickly spinning on the spot, he drew his sword to face the...

"By God..." There was what appeared to a large lion with wings facing him. It had deep orange fur and an even darker scarlet mane. The wings protruding from its back seemed bat like in their appearance, folded away at it's side as it stood half emerged from the greenery. The fangs jutting out of its mouth were large and sharp, and as it growled at the pirate Captain even more could be seen from within its maw. The tail was also a sight to behold: long and poised, with a large black spike at the end.

The forest was dark as well as dense, and with no way of know which way to go, at the risk of finding another beast to face along side this one, Barbossa chose to do the one thing he was best at.

"Has not been me day today. And now. I'm 'fraid 'tis not yours either." Blade drawn, he lunged for the beast and thrust his sword forwards, slicing to the right of his side. Despite the wings and the apparently strong legs, it was slow in the closed space of the trees, and suffered with a large, deep wound to the knee.

It let out a huge roar, doubling back in pain. Barbossa looked on and felt pride in injuring a dangerous beast he had only discovered less than a minute ago. But he did not let his guard down; he knew it would not give in so easily. The beast then charged forward in spite of its injury and attempted to lunge at the Captain. However, having a smaller body in the space he was in gave Barbossa the advantage, and he stood ground until the creature came close, only to dive between some trees and stab at it as it charged past, weakened and struggling due to its previous injury.

The beast once again howled out in pain, but did not stop to suffer. It charged at Barbossa and rammed its paws between the trees, prying them part. Barbossa looked up in shock, having witnessed the creature practically rip two trees from its roots. He gave out a nervous laugh as the beast eyed him, anger and irritation evident in its face; two things Barbossa knew to run from when faced with a wild animal. And with said animal still needing to get its large body through the enlarged gap in the trees, he seized the chance while he could.

Knowing the beast was injured, he ran as fast as his old legs could take him, taking advantage of it while he still had a chance. Running through the over growth was easy given his sword: it making little work of the foliage that got in his way. And given his small size, compared to the monster at least, it would still have to claw its way through what was left.

But it appeared to be futile. He could hear trees falling in the distance, crashing to the ground. The beast wasn't as weak as he'd thought. Having tired of running, he realised he would have to face the creature eventually. He launched himself to the side for cover, than waited for it to pass him, or at least come towards him for a clear strike. Barbossa waited with confidence for the it to approach, before realising there were no sounds coming from the direction he had travelled. How had he been so stupid!

"The beast can fly."

The trees hadn't been destroyed to chase him, it'd made space to get air born! Its leg was injured, of course of wouldn't bloody run after him!

The rustling then resurfaced from above, and from the top of a tree, he saw the beast crawl its way on to a branch, eyeing Barbossa the whole time. Priming its wings to propel itself forward, it readied to lung at the pirate. Ready for the final kill.

But it couldn't. It didn't have the chance. Barbossa held his pistol forward, and with a smirk painted on his face, pulled the trigger. The creature fell unceremoniously from the the tree on to the ground, landing on its side. It growled at the Captain, and winced in pain as it tried to move. Barbossa stood above it. High and mighty. He had bested a magical monster. A new beast never before witnessed by any man, or so he assumed anyway. The beast, despite its ultimate fate having already been decided, tried in vain to swipe at the pirate. He merely smiled and thrust his sword deep in its chest. The beast, having finally succumbed to him, lifelessly slumped on to the floor.

Barbossa laughed. Deep and raspy, holding his sword above the newly slain creature at his feet.

"Down with ye, ye winged beastie." His laugh echoed through the forest. "If ye had'nt tried again, I may have killed ye honourably."

Then there were sounds from his left. The sounds of animals and the rustling of leaves. Judging by the sounds made, they were smaller creatures. He admitted he enjoyed the thrill of killing an enemy or a beast should it gain him, but killing creatures or civilians for fun was not among his personal code. Not any more. He was a pirate, true, but not a monster. If there was no gain to be had, and no threat posed, they could keep to their ways. Still, this was a new world, and with it came new dangers. This...thing clearly showed that.

Cautiously and quietly moving towards the sound, he drew his sword. Scaring the creature would not only let him see it, but also let it escape should it pose no threat. If it was a threat, however, it would work in his favour; scaring it away or allowing him the first strike. Sword in hand and brimming with confidence, he cast aside the leaves and pointed his sword forward, getting the jump at whatever lay on the other side.

"C'mon then, beasties! Be there more of ye...wantin'..."

What greeted him was not a monster, but three small...horses? The sight alone was enough to surprise him, but they were...unnatural to say the least; one was a unicorn while another appeared to sport wings. The manes and coats were also of unnatural nature; orange, purple and yellow among the other colours present. They were cowering under his shadow, almost crying as he stood above them, bloody sword in hand.

"D-don't...h-h-hurt us...p-please." The white unicorn whimpered, barely able to breath as it did.

Barbossa's eyes went wide. They were talking. The horses were talking. That was...new. And they were crying.

His mind was processing this new information at a rather slow rate, hundreds of questions forming in his head. Are they meant to talk? Can horses really cry? Are they dangerous? Can everything here have wings? Are they usually orange? Are they...children?

The pirate didn't know what was going on, or what they rightly were, but they were apparently...children. He had next to know experience with the things, but had to do something...didn't he? Where were the women when ye wanted them?

He put away his sword and reached out for the white one, making sure to lighten his features while he did so. And he smiled. Children liked smiling, surely. Deciding that would be the best course of action, he attempted the biggest smile he could muster, and tried talking, should his new found aura of kindness and merciful nature fail him.

"It be fine. Ye just stop..." He was cut off by the orange one pushing the unicorn away and attempting to buck him in the arm. It made contact but only succeeded in pushing his hand away.

"Ge-e-et aw-way from h-her!" The three horses, tears still streaming from their eyes, then charged for the forestry behind them. Each one telling the others to run. To run from the monster.

Barbossa just stood there, unsure of what to make of what had just transpired. But despite these thoughts plaguing him, as well as the questions the horses posed, he realised he now had an opportunity to get out of the forest relatively unharmed. If these things were indeed...children, children who could talk, they had to live somewhere. He couldn't imagine them living in a place with flying lions roaming among the trees. Assuming they knew where they were heading, of course.

He let out a tired sigh. Today was not going as he had assumed it would, but he had to make do with what fate handed him. He had wanted an adventure in another world. He had wanted to go where few men ventured and even fewer returned. And he had it.

"Best careful what ye wish for." And with that, he followed the path the small horses had taken.

"Lest ye end up regrettin' it."


	2. Hello Beastie

******Chapter 2: Hello Beastie**  


The animals scampered to and fro around the small cottage, working their own way between the freshly placed food and their homes. Among the many present, one could hear sparrows, squirrels, rabbits and even robins; each creature living in relative harmony with the others around it.

Placing the final bowl of food in the bird house above her head, Fluttershy let out a sigh of relief. She loved looking after the animals in her home, she really did, but feeding them could be exhausting at times. Having the natural ability to fly certainly helped, but sometimes there were just too many. Mating seasons didn't help matters, bringing even more tiny mouths to feed. But it didn't matter. She was done now, and all the animals were happy to get a free meal.

Looking around her home, and seeing the content faces on all the animals, she yawned and cracked her wings as she lay on the couch, glad to be free from work Even if it was just for a little while. But it was too early to sleep, and not the type to nap at every chance she got like her friend, she pleased herself by grabbing a nearby book. The more friendly animals proceeded to sit on the couch beside her, some even giving the illusion to be reading along with her, nodding and turning their heads as she did the pages. But she didn't mind, as long as they enjoyed themselves.

Their paradise didn't last. Out of the silence, screams and yells emanated from the garden outside. The smaller animals scattered around the cottage, heading for the safety of their homes. The larger creatures simply stood there, suddenly turning their heads towards the noise. Fluttershy did the same. Realising the noise was, in fact, somepony rather than something, she stood on her hind legs and peered out of the window behind her.

Applebloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle came careering down the path towards her home, screaming and shouting at her while they did. They started banging on the front door once they reached it. The banging was hectic and fast.

"Help us!"

"Open the door!"

In a small rush of panic, Fluttershy sped to the door, quickly obliging to their request . The foals wasted no time in rushing at her when she did. They were shouting and crying, and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't understand a word they were saying. Their coats were dirtied with mud and gravel, and bits of leaves and twigs could be seen sticking out from their manes. Their breathing was ragged and their eyes were red: bloodshot from tears.

"Oh dear, wh-" Fluttershy worriedly attempted to get a word in, but they didn't stop. They were still shouting things at her things she couldn't understand. Their voices were muffled by their crying, and speaking at the same time as each other did nothing but confuse the yellow mare further.

"It's alrigh littl-" They started shouting louder in protest, shaking their heads and looking over their shoulders. Their shouting increased, still spewing unintelligible words and sentences.

"One at a ti-" They weren't listening to her. There was tears glistening on their cheeks, and their breathing was hard and ragged, which meant they probably weren't even trying to listen either.

"ONE AT A TIME!..." She didn't like raising her voice, and was somewhat surprised herself that she had, but at least it gave her the chance to work out what was going on. "...please?"

The three crusaders looked up at Fluttershy, blinking and shuffling their feet under her gaze. They just stood there shaking, occasionally looking behind them towards the trees outside. But their crying hadn't stopped, and they looked just as scared as before.

"S-sorry..." The all said at the same, sniffing.

"It's okay, I'm sorry too." Fluttershy looked at them, her usual reassuring smile returning to her face. "What happened?" Applebloom chose to speak up first.

"We w-was in the...Everfree forest an'...an'..."

"It's okay. Just take your time."

"...An' a monster tried ta' eat Sweetie Belle!" Fluttershy's eyes widened, and her mouth hung open. It had tried to eat her? Oh, this was terrible. The poor things. They should have known better not to go near the forest! Fluttershy gave a quick glance towards Sweetie, looking over for injuries. Spare the dirtied coat and mane, and being positively terrified, she seemed to be doing fine. As well as could be expected, anyway.

Scootaloo spoke next, nervously stepping towards Fluttershy before she did so.

"And...and it was r-really big, and stood on both its back legs like a Diamond Dog. It had h-horrible teeth and long, black claws! A-and it hit a huge Manticore out of a tree without even touching it!" She was barely breathing, and when she did her voice came out as coarse and raspy.

"Then it killed the Manticore with a big, big sword, and then it came for us! It had blood on its claws and face, a-and it tried to eat Sweetie Be-he-helle!" The orange Pegasi's tears began freely streaming from her eyes, and soon after she began openly weeping on the floor.

A huge monster? With huge claws and horrible teeth? That sounded awful! The poor fillies. No one deserved to be put through that. And they still looked terrified. They needed to be at home. They're families would want to know what had happened. And they would also be able to help them more than Fluttershy could.

"Come on now. I'm taking you home." She gave them a reassuring smile, but they still kept looking beyond the cottage into the forest. "Don't worry, the monster won't come after you. I promise."

Hesitantly, and very, very slowly, they made their way out of the house. The foals didn't bother to wander further than they needed to, and constantly kept to Fluttershy's side. The forest was just out of sight, beyond their vision, but that simply meant neither was the monster.

Once they were down the path leading to the cottage, the children increased their pace, almost rushing towards their homes. Closing in on Ponyville, Fluttershy looked over her shoulder towards the trees in the distance. She had lived in her cottage for years, but never once encountered a creature she couldn't deal with. Or one that sounded so...beastly.

"Come on, little ones. Hurry along." Her voice shook and wavered. "Your families are probably worried about you..."

- - - -

The small horses may have gotten loose of his senses, but their tracks hadn't. The ground was moist and fresh, leaving a clearly etched trail of prints in the forest floor. But the path was everything but simple. Whether they had just taken a complicated route from the start, or simply had gotten lost, Barbossa didn't know. Frankly he didn't care. He would just be relieved to be free of this God forsaken forest.

The thick layers of greenery took time to get through, giving him opportunity to think over the events that had transpired, and the consequences they brought. Only he had failed to reach The Locker. Out of all the worthless cockroaches aboard that ship, out of all the useless men, all the dispensable men, he was the one who was lost among an unknown world.

"Not that it matters!" Slashing at the foliage in long, hard swipes with his sword, he pushed forward, almost roaring to himself at the world itself as he did. He hadn't the map upon his arrival, meaning they likely had it in theirs. He never carried his piece of eight on his person. Ragetti had it on his. They had everything of his they needed to free Calypso, and he was stuck here!

"Arrrggghh!"

Continuously slashing at the trees, and pushing whatever was left to the side, he stormed through the landscape. Despite his nerves being tempered and his ego being frayed, he was dealing with it. There was a way to and from Jones' Locker, so that logic must also apply here. It had to. He had arrived under the same circumstances, so he would be able to leave by them as well.

Still moving forward, his barrage against the forest paid in his favour, eventually leading him out onto to an open path. It consisted of dirt and gravel, but was obviously unnatural. It was distinct and clear, and unlike most of what he had seen so far, held nothing in the way of plant life. It was barren and empty. Something the pirate Captain did not complain about.

"How in God's name did the horses do it?" His frustration came out as tired and gravelly but he honestly didn't care. He was free of the forest. God knows how they got through without cutting their way through. Their tracks continued on to the path he had found, but were of no use now anyway. He had the path itself to go by.

Finally stepping out onto it, he took a gander down each way the path could lead. Looking around the path itself, it didn't seem to stretch that far ahead in either direction. On his left it continued on, only to apparently lead deeper into the forest. His right, on the other hand, lead on to what he hoped to be a way out; rays of light visible in the distance. The dirt track also had little hoof prints leading that way too, leaving Barbossa with little doubt as to which way to go..

"Best be seeing what this world has te offer."

Rather more confident now that he had some bearings, he stowed away his sword and ventured on towards the end of the path. He also refilled his pistol, finally having a decent chance to do so. Once outside the forest, everything that was once over growing simply seemed to stop, as if the land on the outside refused to let it go on any further. The dank, mustiness of the forest gave way to fresh air and sunlight. And the terrible creatures squealing in the shadows was replaced by the sound of running water.

Finally free of the accursed place, Barbossa basked in the sunlight, glad to see it back in full force. Heading towards the sound in front of him, he took a hearty drink of the fresh, streaming water, having had none long before the ship even went down.

"Right." The pirate gave his old bones crack of relief, flexing his back and shoulders. "Now what?" He spoke to no one in particular, feeling doing so would stave of the boredom and insanity.

Moving along his new found path of choice, a small building caught the corner of his eye, his route more less leading right up to it. Continuing onward, the Captain once again took notice of the prints at his feet.

"Ah..." He hadn't planned on discovering where the small animals had gone, but saw no reason not to after coming this far. They were the only link he had in this world, if he could even call them that.

"There be nothin' else worth doin'." Letting a weary laugh escape him, he ploughed onwards. The search for a way back to his world had to start somewhere."Can't let ye have all the fun now, can 'a Jack."

But for now, there was the present issue at hand. The horses would no doubt have informed someone of him, and judging by the way in which they left his favourable company, it would likely have not been a good impression of him. However, nothing could be accomplished without first reaching a destination, and seeing as the small building was the only one he knew of, it would have to suffice.

Unfortunately, arriving at the cottage had brought forward something new to consider.

"I'm not likely te be enjoyin' me stay here..."

There were so many animals. Birds. Squirrels and rabbits. And enough burrows and bird houses to hold all of them and more. The scent of flowers was heavy in the air, and it was easy to see why. The roof was adorned with many of them, and a flotilla of butterflies and coloured insects decorated the flowers themselves. Even the animals themselves seemed overly happy, each one having bright eyes and wide smiles gracing their faces. Water from the river flowed beneath the bridge to the house; lilly pads floating freely with the flow of the water. Everything was so alive. Everything was...so...

"Sickly sweet..." Everything was too bright. Too happy. Too colourful. Nothing like the forest. Even Barbossa himself felt out of place given his current surroundings; the dark blues and greys of his clothes and body contrasting with the greens and bright hues of the landscape.

Everything just felt...wrong. The utter audacity of the world, its vibrancy, just made him want to repel it. Push it away. Even the grass at his feet made him feel uneasy. But if he backed away from everything that was presented to him, what had his life taught him? This house was a start, and he'd be better off staying than leaving.

The animals surrounding him were apparently inclined to disagree. They had all stopped to look at him, seemingly displeased with his presence. Many even looked...angry. Not one to be threatened by fluffy creatures and butterflies, Barbossa continued his way towards the door. A lone white rabbit stood on the porch with its arms crossed, apparently trying to dissuade him from going further.

"Anybody home! "

No reply.

"I mean ye no harm!" Spare some birds fleeing from his voice, there was still no response emanating from the house. The pirate wasn't exactly lying, feeling it best to assure his noble intentions, assuming his image in this world had already been tarnished by the children. He gave a quick shrug towards the rabbit.

"At least ye can't say I failed to attempt an accord." He gave a crooked and smile and headed for the door regardless. If there was no one inside, that meant it was free pickings for a good look around. There should be books, or at least some form of information to be had inside that could prove useful to his cause. If there were...living things inside, he could attempt to strike up a deal of sorts.

However, the small white rabbit once again stood in his way, its tiny arms spread across the door and it's face defiant. It was almost comical given it's less than threatening appearance. But the pirate had decided to take this world with a pinch of salt.

"Go on!" Moving his hands in a motion to shoo it away, he approached the small animal. "Be gone! Away with ye." The rabbit stood his ground, body unmoved despite Barbossa's protests. With the age old act of shooing the animal away failing to work, he rolled his eyes and pulled out his pistol.

"I'll ask ye again. Away." The creature looked up at the item pointing towards him, and despite its evident confusion, could at least tell the item posed a threat. But the small rabbit still refused to move. Its façade of bravado and composure had faded, yet it still stood its ground.

He grinned sarcastically. "A brave doorman to be sure, and a' commend ye for yer duties." Firing his pistol in the air, he gave a deep cackle as the small rabbit, as well as every other animal in the vicinity, scampered and fled the flash and bang of his flintlock. "But ye have yer priorities, and I have mine."

It had never been his goal to harm the animal, given he didn't rightly know what it was in this world. For all he knew it was some sort of small child. He may have been a pirate, but he wasn't an idiot. Scaring it away solved both issues, and without the need for blame to be put on his record. His intentions were strictly honourable as far as he was concerned, and there was no reason in creating quarrels were there weren't needed.

Honourable or not, the house in front him most likely had something of use to his cause. Even a confirmation of where he was would be useful at this point. While exploration would be certainly be more fruitful, he'd rather not stick out unaided in a world that was potential populated by talking animals, and judging from the horses reaction to him, they were likely the sole population.

The inside of the building encouraged a sigh from Barbossa. While it was certainly less...flamboyant than the outside world, it was still rather too picturesque. Much of the furniture consisted bird houses, with the rest being overcome with small foot walks and holes. Pellets and bowls lay across the floor, many up turned in what he assumed was the panic he had just caused. Despite the number of lodgings present for animals, there was no smell, which he assumed would be the main issue with housing as many of them as he could see. Perhaps they were trained.

He then noticed something else that caught his attention, rather surprised it hadn't been the first thing noticed. Everything was...rather small. Not so much that he would struggle to accommodate, but not fit to his scale anyway.

"Figures. The young ones weren't up te me shins. A grown one wouldn't get much bigger." At least he hoped not. They were smaller than foals he had seen before, but if the grown ones were the size of the horses he knew, they would have no issue harming him in groups. Even with a pistol and sword.

Laughing nervously, he rubbed the back of his head. "It needn't come te that." Not if he was careful enough.

To the right of the entrance was a door that led into what he assumed was a kitchen. It was basic, having nothing more than what he would expect to find. While food would be welcome, the pantry contained nothing but flowers, nuts and some hay. The nuts were not to his liking, and the rest was downright inedible.

Moving instead to the room almost directly opposite, there was nothing of obvious value spare for a book left casually on the couch. Its navy blue cover was none to exciting, being empty spare a picture of a cowering horse among some black shadows. Wondering about its usefulness, he picked it up and read the title.

"The Silence in the Library by Ink Slinger?" Must be a pseudonym. It was an romance novel, but having no use for it, and having looked over everything else he deemed worthy, he moved to the stairs.

The steps were slightly awkward, given his size, but it was not something he needed to get used to. The single room atop the stairs was apparently a bedroom. There was a single bed, as well as an assortment of different pieces of furniture. Flowers and various feminine decorations were situated around the walls, as well as on the small fireplace to his side. Among the ceilings beams were more bird houses and actual nests, although all were empty. The open window gave him a good idea of where the birds had gone. More importantly, there was a chest at the bottom of the bed and a bookshelf come desk to the left, just beyond the fireplace..

"This should do." A smile of intrigue crept onto the man's face, excited with actually finding something worth his breaking and entering. Walking up to the bed and opening the chest, his excitement soon shattered when the treasure revealed itself to be an assortment of hats, socks and shoes. Barbossa wasn't exactly expecting gold doubloons, but something more worth his while than clothes. The hats were somewhat gaudy, but otherwise not too undesirable. Maybe a bit too feminine for Captains tastes.

"What swine keeps hats in a chest!" With a slight air of frustration and a scowl on his face, he slammed the chest shut. There were probably many who kept clothes in chests, but that didn't stop him complaining about it. The house thus far had supplied nothing of use and it was beginning to get irritating. Believing the bookshelf would be more likely to hold information, he moved on to it, groaning as he stood up.

The desk itself contained little apart from common writing materials, but it was obviously the bookshelf itself that most interested Barbossa. There was probably no more than a dozen or so books on the shelves, but hopefully at least one would hold some useful information.

The shelf was less a library of knowledge and more a collection of love stories. He pulled out book after book, each ones blurb telling the tale of love, lies and loss. The newest one earning a special response from the Captain.

"Boundaries by Tiger Lilly: Mare love transcending the limits of gender and friendship." Quickly widening his eyes in surprise and cocked a smile after letting his breath get away from him, Barbossa tossed the book on the floor with the rest. He didn't know whether to be amused or curious, given this was clearly a women's house.

Continuing his apparently fruitless search of the bookshelf love built, and the collection of books rapidly depleting, something finally caught his eye. It was a small book, old too, but it seemed to one of the two only non-fiction books present. The other being a guide to animal health.

"Field Guide: Ponyville Edition" was all that was written on the dulled, dark red cover, an image of what appeared to be animals jumping accompanying it. It was fairly worn, and the pages were dirties with long hours of use. Opening it up, the book was marked all over with ink and pencil. The random pages he found having ticks and notes next to impressively clear images of animals. Among the many notes present on the pages were things like "likes cherries" and "so very fluffy."

"Ponyville?" Barbossa struggled to stifle a laugh. "Now I've heard everythin'." Quickly flicking through the rest of the book, searching for some form of map, he cocked a smile finally finding a somewhat complete one at the back. It was not as detailed as he would have liked, with the woodland outside "Ponyville" being the main point of interest. However, the addition of different segmented maps for other areas seemed to make up for this.

"It'll have te do." While not what he wanted, it was far from useless. A small heart and "My House" marking what he assumed was his current position on different maps throughout the book. Although he had hoped for information on the world itself, an extract on a small town was a good place to start.

But everything was surprisingly well done for a common guide; the text was crisp and the pictures were all of a very high quality, like no book or map Barbossa had had the pleasure to see.

Pleased with his new found bounty, he gave the area around him a quick glance over, confirming he had not missed anything of importance, and headed towards the stairs. Half suspecting someone to have arrived home in his search, he slowly looked around the interior before making his way down. Surprised his venture into the home had gone so smoothly, he confidently went through the door into the garden outside, not wishing to tempt fate.

Finally outside, and with a guide to the area in his possession, he walked back down the path he came. Taking the book out of his jacket, he opened it on the various pages at the back that contained the segmented maps. Many focused on areas such as forests and fields, but there were a few that focused on the nearby town.

"Now...where be me next port a' call?" Looking over the map he deemed the most useful, he moved his finger over the various named areas nearby. Not many places spoke out to him; the town hall and boutique not being among locations he really had any interest in or need for.

"Hey!"

The sudden breaking of the silence was enough to coax Barbossa out of his new found book. Not far to his right were two horses; one yellow with wings and the other a violet purple one with a horn. They were standing on what he believed was the path leading up to Ponyville. He suddenly regretted slowing to read the book rather than actually leaving.

But next to the yellow one, he saw something that irked him more. A little white rabbit was stood there waving at him, a smug little smile spread across his face. No words were spoken, yet the pirate still knew what it had done.

"Little bastard."

**Authors note: Forgot to upload this chapter -_- On the upside, it means the next one will come faster by comparison. As always, comments are appreciated.**


	3. At Wits End

**At Wits End**

"Do...do you think Rarity will be mad at me?"

"Oh no no no. I think she'll just be glad you're safe." Having already taken Applebloom and Scootaloo home, Sweetie belle was the only crusader left with Fluttershy. Applejack was just relieved to see Applebloom was safe, and despite her expectations, she wasn't going to be punished for going into the forest. Both Scootaloo's family and the Apple's believed the fillies had been through enough.

Over the course of the trip home, all three children seemed to have somewhat calmed down, albeit still occasionally looking back the way they had come. Sweetie Belle had long since stopped crying, and the sniffling and worried looks and not long faded either. While Fluttershy guessed it was because she was going home, she liked to think she'd played some part in cheering the fillies up.

Finally arriving at Rarity's Boutique, Sweetie Belle picked up pace and ran through the door, with Fluttershy calmly following behind. Alerted to the sudden noise in her store, Rarity readied herself with a quick check in the mirror and straightening of her mane. Her face dropped when she instead got a view of her very messy little sister.

"Sweetie Belle! What happened to your c-" She was cut off when the little filly charged into her head first, eager for some sort of familiar contact. She started to cry again.

"I'm so sorry big Sister!" Rarity was more surprised at the turn of events than anything else. Coming to her senses, and realising her sister was upset, she looked towards Fluttershy for answers.

"There was an incident in the forest. They said they were...attacked by a monster." Rarity's eyes went wide. Attacked?

"Are you okay? Did it hurt you?" She didn't know if she was angrier at the monster for what it had done, or her sister for disobeying her.

"We got away b-before it got us..."

Thank Celestia. She had told her umpteen times never to go in the forest. They had all been told. But right now, being angry at them wasn't important. She was scared, and worsening her state of mind would just be cruel.

"Shhh, it's okay. You're safe now. That's all that matters. I'm just glad you're okay."

"So...so y-you're not going to punish me?" She didn't plan to, but she still wanted her to feel guilty.

"We'll see about that." She gave a sneaky wink towards Fluttershy. "Thank you for bringing her home. Are the others okay?"

"Oh yes, they're fine. I think they were just happy to be back at home." Continuing the small talk on the events transpired aside, she soon said her goodbyes and left for home. Rarity was her best friend, but seeing as what happened to Sweetie Belle was more important, she left them to be alone.

Stepping outside, she realised it was still relatively early in the afternoon, being just after three at the most. Being spring, the sun was still relatively high in the sky, and with her duty of taking the children home completed, she wondered what to do with the rest of her day. She had already fed the animals and cleaned their homes, after all. And she didn't want to waste coming all the way into town.

Then her mind went back to the monster. With its long black claws and terrible teeth. It's power to down a Manticore and the intelligence to use tools. She hadn't seen or read about a creature that matched its description, let alone one that could stand on its hind legs. Diamond Dogs stood on their hind legs, but couldn't do so for long. Even then they wouldn't be a match for a Manticore. Still curious about the mystery monster, she worked out what she was going to do.

"I'll ask Twilight. She's bound to know what it is." Even if she didn't, she could bet she'd want to find out. That is, if the library didn't have an answer already.

The library wasn't far, being barely ten minutes from Rarity's home. But Fluttershy made good time getting there anyway, given that the sooner she got there, the sooner she could get the answers she wanted. Eventually arriving after a brief five minute walk, she politely knocked on the front door. Twilight often said just to come straight in, but she still thought it was nice to be polite. Shortly afterwards, Spike came to answer the door.

"Hey Fluttershy." He turned back inside. "TWILIGHT! IT'S FLUTTERSHY! Come on in."

Having been invited in, she sauntered her way through the library's doors. Glancing around, she saw her purple friend piling books back into the many shelves situated around her. Having put the book she was currently handling away, she turned around to greet her friend.

"Hey Fluttershy. You don't want another romance novel already, do you?" This ushered a small blush from the yellow mare, not that there was really anything to be embarrassed about.

"Not today, no. It's something a little bit more important."

She then sat and explained the situation as she understood it to Twilight. About the Cutie Mark Crusaders and how they came running into her home. How scared they were, how tired they looked. And finally about the monster they had described. The beast with black claws and horrid teeth. Its abilities and it looks. As much as she could remember from how the girls described it. Throughout the tale, Twilight seemed deep in concentration, absorbing every word and analysing every piece of detail that left Fluttershy's lips. After stating the last of her claims, Fluttershy let Twilight take it all in. She was already thinking.

"Why were they in the forest in the first place?"

"Applebloom said they were being Cutie Mark Crusader Species Spotters. They didn't think they'd find many interesting animals anywhere else." She knew they could have found just as many animals outside the forest, but resolved not to point out what couldn't be changed. Twilight's brow furrowed, still in deep concentration.

"Well that aside, I've never heard of anything like this." She was disappointed. She hated not knowing something. But all that meant was that she had a chance to find out. She looked above her head, and after confirming her choices, she pulled out three books, all from the same shelf. Opening the first one, titled "All the Strange, Strange Creatures", she began ploughing through the pages, looking for anything at all related to their mystery creature.

Fluttershy sat on her haunches, unsure of exactly what to do with herself. Sure, Twilight would probably find an answer for her questions, but that left her doing nothing in the meantime. Remembering she was in fact in a library, she grabbed a book of a nearby shelf that piqued her interest. It wasn't a romance novel, but she saw no point in starting a new one anyway. Spike occasional left his duties to ask Fluttershy about the monster or fetch a book for Twilight, wanting to somehow be involved with finding out about the mystery monster.

This continued until Twilight had exhausted the final of the three books she had pulled out. She'd read most other books in the library pertaining to magical creatures, and couldn't think of any piece of material that had a reference to their mystery monster. But that wasn't the only issue: she needed first-hand knowledge on the creature. The crusaders may have seen it, but as children she couldn't rightly trust their judgement on what it looked like. The truth was stretched even farther when she considered that not only were they scared, it had also been retold by Fluttershy, who may have got minor details incorrect

"I need to see it. The information I have could be inaccurate or wrong." She groaned in frustration. "And some of what you told me is just too vague."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean like, does horrible teeth mean they were sharp and scary, or just disgusting? Does it always walk on its hind legs, or was it trying to intimidate them? We can walk on our back legs if we try."

Fluttershy had to admit she had a point. She was sure she had got everything right, but if Sweetie belle, Scootaloo and Applebloom were wrong, that meant she was too. She just pictured the scariest thing she could with what she was told, that didn't necessarily mean that's what it actually looked like.

"Can I take some of these books to your place? That way we could start at your house tomorrow and search around the entrance to Everfree, and I wouldn't have to go back and forth to town" Fluttershy looked behind her friend to the books she was pertaining to. There were...quite a few. Wait a minute...

"We?" She didn't much like the thought of looking through Everfree solely for a creature that may or may not want to eat them.

"I could get the others together tomorrow to help. I don't know where Rainbow is right now, and I'm pretty sure Applejack's looking after her sister."

Fluttershy decided to give in. She did want to know more about the strange animal, after all. Plus, if her friends were there to help look for it, she was sure nothing bad would happen. "I guess you could put the books in my r-"

"Great, just let me grab my saddlebag." She skipped off upstairs and rummaged around for a few seconds before coming back down with the item in question. Twilight then began levitating various books from her pile into the bag on her back. After she had apparently gotten "enough for now", she and Fluttershy headed for the door.

"What about me, Twilight?" Oh. Twilight had almost forgotten about her assistant. The wide grin plastered on his face and his bouncing up and down more than showed how eager he was to help.

"I'll be back later for more books. I promise you can help out tomorrow." Spike gave her a dubious look. It wouldn't be the first time he got left behind when something cool was going on. "Just find all the books that might be relevant to the mystery monster. You can help me look through them at Fluttershy's."

Somewhat pleased that he might be a part of the fun for once, he hurried off to complete the tasks his friend had gave him; spurred on by the fact he might get to catch a glimpse of the "Mystery Monster of the Everfree Forest".

Finally leaving the library, Twilight and Fluttershy set off for the shy mare's cottage. They attempted small talk to pass the time, but subject matters eventually reverted back to their current mystery. Now that her studious friend was involved, Fluttershy began to feel rather confident about finding about this creature. She felt like a policepony or an undercover detective.

The books on Twilights back weren't heavy, but after carrying them most of the way to the cottage, the weight began to get heavier under her tiring muscles. Her friend offered to carry them for her multiple times, but she refused. The cottage wasn't that much further anyway. However, nearing the edge of town, the sudden arrival of a certain someone prompted the two mares to stop in their tracks, much to Twilight's relief.

"Angel!" The little bunny rarely left the comfort of the cottage, one of the reasons being that he wasn't normally allowed to. His breathing was somewhat deep and wavered, but if he'd come all the way from his home, it was to be expected.

He began shaking his arms in the air and hopping around, holding a manner of different poses while doing so. After he was apparently done doing what he was doing, he proceeded to point down the dirt road he had come from. The two mares just looked at him, attempting to hold off their laughter. Fluttershy then had an idea and walked up to him, speaking in her most child friendly voice.

"Are you hungry mister silly billy? I'm sure I gave you enough food."

Slapping his forehead in frustration, he proceeded to draw what appeared to be an angry face on the dirt at the mare's hooves. He then proceeded to draw and arrow pointing from said picture to a simple square house. Finishing his masterpiece, he continuously pointed between Fluttershy and the house, obviously flustered as well as irritated that he couldn't get his point across.

"There's...is a monster in my house?" Sarcastically clapping his paws, he nodded and attempted to pull his keeper along the route to their home. Fluttershy instead then turned to address Twilight, much to Angels annoyance.

"Oh no. Do you think it's the monster from the forest? Maybe it's harmed the animals." While concern was evident in Fluttershy's voice, Twilight's response held more intrigue than worry.

"If it is, I want to get a good look at it." Although this was certainly not the best of circumstances, with Fluttershy's home and her animal friends in danger, this could be the only chance they would get to see it out in the open.

"If we hurry we could help the animals too." Shifting the satchel on her back into a more comfortable location, Twilight set of in a sprint for their destination, Fluttershy following with her bunny friend riding on her back. With the weight of the books on her back, however, the purple mare regretted not bringing them in moderation. She wanted to just leave them on the ground there and then, but argued against herself that they would get stolen or ruined.

"Oh, I hope the little dears are okay." They were both breathing harder, Twilight more so. But with the cottage just out of view, she persevered. Just a little further.

And then they saw it.

The creature was tall. At least two or three heads taller than either of the mares were. It stood on its hind legs as if it had four; the loss of balance or need for support Twilight had theorised not being present at all. It wore clothes of...some sort of heavy material. It looked so out of place compared to the plants and the trees. And it wore a hat. With feathers! She hadn't thought it would even wear clothes at all. There were no sign of huge black claws, or its horrible teeth, but then they weren't up close. Everything else fit the criteria though.

It was coming down the path of Fluttershy's cottage, holding what appeared to be a book. The fact it could walk and read at the same time alone made Twilight jealous, but she vowed to save that for another time. It also appeared to be talking to itself. Carefully putting her bag on the ground, she searched for the will power to do...something. While she was scared, her curiosity won out in the end.

"Hey!" Fluttershy slowly turned her head to face her friend, shock clearly present on her face.

"What are you doing Twilight?" Her voice came out as little more than a squeaky whisper. Fluttershy just stood there, mortified her friend had dared call out to the possibly pony-eating monster.

"It's reading a book. It could be intelligent. We should try talking to it." The creature had turned to them now, staring down the trio as they whispered to one another. Well, those who could talk anyway. Angel simply waved at the...thing.

While the two ponies conversed down the path, Barbossa stood there, considering his options. These two horses...well, horse and a unicorn, seemed passive enough, but there was no proof they held peaceful intentions. They had just seen him come out what could have possibly been their house, and the yellow one looked like it could be related to the child from earlier, seeing as they both had similar colour schemes. Then again, he didn't know if that was how it worked: he was making it up as he went along at this point.

It also annoyed him to no end he had forgotten what winged horses were called. He knew of Greek mythology, and many other foul creatures that roamed his world, but he had forgotten one of the most rudimentary.

On the other hand, he had the book. The maps of the surrounding land would prove useful at getting around, but it was the maps of Ponyville that interested him. Among other things, he now knew the locations of a school and a set of orchards. He could gain access to information on the world itself, as well as masses of food at the same time, before being able to decide on an appropriate course of action to get home. He knew his plan was flawed, but it was the one he was most comfortable with.

"Can you talk?" The purple one had begun to approach him, slowly but surely, still weary of his presence.

All he needed to do now was get away.

However, as much as he loathed the thought, he wasn't the escape artist Jack was. He couldn't just run towards something and, by chance alone, get away using whatever he found. If anything, that was one of Jacks only redeeming qualities when having him on your side: he was good at getting out of trouble. However, the Captain didn't consider himself a complete failure at the art. He wouldn't have survived as long as he did otherwise. He crookedly smiled towards his addresser, answering her question.

"I'm 'fraid not. Sorry te be wastin' yer time." Walking backwards, he proceeded up the path in the opposite direction the mares had come, shrugging his shoulders and holding his hand innocently in the air. He continued to watch as the unicorn continued to walk further forward as he walked further back.

"Do you have a name?" The question surprised the pirate, but he saw no need to keep it from her. He didn't exactly blend in.

"Captain Hector Barbossa." He gave a sarcastic bow, and even tipped his hat for the occasion. "Pleased te' be meetin' yer acquaintances." He ushered his hand towards the mare, obviously wanting her name in return.

"Twilight Sparkle." This was great! She so felt proud with herself. She'd not only found out the creature could speak, but also discovered it had a name! She would have to write it down.

Her pride soon faded when the creat...Hector began snorting at her, eventually giving way to bellowing laughter. After a few second, letting his hysterics die down, he wiped away a tear from his eye.

"Aye, and a fine name it is too, to be sure." He'd had an idea. "If ye were named by a child."

"What's that supposed to mean?" She hadn't meant to let the question slip out, but his response had just come back too quickly. He simply smiled back at her.

"Nothin' to be offended for, Miss Sparkle. I'm sure yer friend's name be just as bad." He had no idea if it was, but assuming that everyone was named like this, there was a good chance of it. He motioned to Fluttershy to get his point across.

"You're insulting my friends now?" Rather than letting her emotions take over, she took a deep breath, and calmed herself; she wasn't going to let him get the better of her good nature. "There's nothing wrong with her name."

"My apologies. What be yer name then!" He called out to the shy Pegasus, who hadn't moved since she'd arrived on the scene. He hoped he had the situation thought out well enough.

"F...t...rs..." Her speaking barely above a whisper wasn't assisted by the fact that she was talking away from the pirate, trying to avoid eye contact and hiding behind her mane. Seeing where this was going, remembering the pattern from their own initial meeting, Twilight decided to speak in her steed.

"Her name is Fluttershy." She regretted her decision soon after hearing his reaction.

"A name as withered as her nature, it appears. That be really helpin' your cause, Miss Sparkle." His smile widened, showing of his teeth. They really were horrible. And she really didn't like the way he said her name. She needed to change the subject, seeing as she didn't know what else to do; Fluttershy was crying, and she didn't want start any trouble with Hector. Not yet, anyway.

"What are you doing here?" She would not let him get the better of her.

"Plunderin' for anythin' I deem worthy o' value." He shook his new book in the air. "I presume ye be the owner this rather...fine home?"

"No." She didn't want to give him anything else to talk about; anything to use against them. He was just trying to get under her skin. And, unfortunately, he was winning.

"Must belong to yer friend then. There be nothin' else worth takin' in th' hole anyways." He moved back some more, apparently confident with himself.

"And I'd be watchin' out for her, Miss Sparkle. I'm sure her tastes in lovers be not of the gentlemanly persuasion, if ye be catchin' me drift." Twilight wasn't taking this anymore. Making fun of her was one thing, but not her friends.

"How dare you!" She'd had enough. He was tall, sure, but that didn't mean she couldn't talk him down from his high horse. No one talked about friends like that! If she couldn't fight him, she would be sure to make him rethink making fun of Fluttershy. She sauntered towards him, eyes flaring and horn aimed forward. "You can get away with insulting me, but you w-"

She couldn't finish. Barbossa had grabbed the mare by the head and in a quick, flawless manoeuvre, shoved her to the side and kicked her in the ribs, pushing her into the river next to the cottage in the process. It was shallow, but he knew it would at the very least disorientate the animal.

Quickly making sure the shy one was still quivering and crying under her own hooves, he ran for the side of the house, and towards some trees in the distance, but not before hearing Fluttershy call out to her hurt friend.

"Twilight! Twilight are you okay?"

He knew simply running from the start would be useless. Normal or not, they were horses, and any horse was faster than a man of his age. And even if Twilight couldn't catch him, he was certain the other one could, seeing as she could fly; he considered it pure luck that Fluttershy was too frightened or preoccupied to give chase.

The other option was to attack, but was that awkward due to the same reasons. Trying to land a hit would be hard enough, but with one able to fly off for help, and the other in possession a horn, he didn't want to take his chances. Lulling one of them towards him was easier, and much more likely to succeed. Plus, pushing them in the water would give him time to escape without harming them. Well, without harming them permanently anyway. He had planned to do the same to the yellow one, but as before, he was thankful she didn't seem inclined to attack.

But holding them back with his sword would have been unacceptable. They had no reason to be grievously harmed or killed. It would further no favour of his, nor would it have been honourable to do so; he considered himself a gentleman of the sea, and unlike many pirates, had learned the hard way what befell those compelled by greed.

The lack of allies or resources should he get caught was also an issue, but that wasn't the point.

Still running, and rather proud of how he handled the escape, he looked towards the trees ahead of him. Opening the book, he searched for the last page he'd had his eye on, eager to assure himself he was heading in the somewhat correct direction. Satisfied he was, he nodded his head and stored the book into his jacket. It may have held little in terms of descent co-ordinations, but made up for it in quantity and information on the wild life.

The section of the book he'd had open only focused on a specific corner of Ponyville, and the many orchards and fields that were present there. Given his current state of well-being, and the arduous task he likely had ahead of him in the evening, he only had one thing on his mind.

Food.


	4. Barbossa is Hungry

**Chapter 4: Barbossa is Hungry**

"Well, that failed miserably..."

Pushing against the ground below her, Twilight groaned as she stood up at the river's edge. It wasn't deep, but the water wasn't her problem. She winced again as she felt a pain at her sides.

"Great." Her ribs hurt, she was cold, and she her main was dirty. Thank Celestia she'd dropped the books beforehoof. It would have awful if they'd got ruined.

"Twilight? Are...are you okay?" Fluttershy was rubbing her hoofs over her eyes, sniffling and rubbing away her tears as she loomed over her purple friend.

"I guess. I think he broke some ribs though." Fluttershy's face dropped, her emotional state fading in favour of a more worried one.

"Should I get help?"

"No. I can fix some broken ribs..." Slowly trotting out of the drink, she paused to levitate the water from her fur. Her horn gave of a faint magenta glow, causing steam to miraculously emanate from her body, the dirt and grime going with it. Giving herself a once over, as well as a swift shake, he turned to her friend.

"Did you see which way he went?" Not that it mattered. He was probably too far away for them to catch him anyway. Not that she was particularly in the mood to see him.

"N-no. I'm sorry. "

"Don't be sorry. You didn't do anything wrong." attempting to walk further, Twilight let out another groan of pain. "Can I come in? I'll need time to concentrate if I want to heal myself."

Reminding Twilight they were heading there anyway, Fluttershy collected her friend's books and ushered her inside. The books were heavy, but she wouldn't let Twilight carry the saddlebag with broken ribs. After slowly making her way inside, the purple mare proceeded to lie down on the couch in Fluttershy's living room.

"Oh." Fluttershy let out a bitter sigh. "He didn't even wipe his feet..."

"Fluttershy, he was robbing you. Wiping his feet probably wasn't his biggest concern." Her response came back harsher than she'd meant it to, but sitting there with some broken ribs wasn't helping her temperament.

Lamenting her friend was probably right, Fluttershy dropped the heavy bag on the floor next to the couch. Twilight usually wanted time to do more important spells, thus Fluttershy busied herself reading some of the books her friends had brought with her. The yellow Pegasus often marvelled at the things Twilight and Rarity could do. The ability to levitate objects being the most desired. While she would never give up her wings, having the ability to use magic would surely be useful, especially when tending the animals. A loud cracking noise stemming from Twilight promptly brought Fluttershy out of her daydream.

"Was that...meant to happen?" She knew her friend was magically capable, but her spells didn't always go the way they were meant to. However, after a long wince and a small stretch, Twilight turned to face her.

"Sadly, yes. It's kinda like clicking your joints. I have to sort of break the rib in reverse. Kinda. I know what I mean." She attempted a giggle. "Medical ponies use the same spell, except they can do it with more control and less...cracking than I can. It has the same overall effect though."

Hopping off from the couch, she gave another long stretch of her body, and happy that she was indeed fully healed, she jumped up and down on the spot to prove her point.

"See? Good as new." Fluttershy was pleased enough with the result as well; her friend was better, despite how unpleasant the resulting sound was.

Coming away from her small triumph, Twilight remembered the reason she got hurt in the first place. Going through her saddlebag, she pulled out a small notebook and a quill, and began fervently writing down what little information she already had.

Captain Hector Barbossa

Fluttershy frowned at the name, but given how he had behaved towards her, the reaction was entirely justified in Twilight's mind. He didn't have to be so cruel; they were only trying to talk to him. Well, Twilight was anyway.

"We should have a look around. He was stealing stuff from your house." It was evident where he had gone too. Trails of dirt and muddy prints were spread throughout the cottage, only fading when they led upwards into Fluttershy's bedroom.

Deciding to follow the route Hector had apparently taken, they began in the kitchen. Rummaging aside, it appeared he hadn't paid much heed to anything in there. He had raided the food store, but apart from a few nuts that had been spat on the floor, nothing appeared to have been eaten. Twilight continued to write into her notebook.

"What are you writing down?" Not that she minded. Despite how mean he had been to her, she was still curious about him; she hadn't seen anything like him in her life, and she prided herself on knowing about any animal she could find.

"Just anything I find, really. I mean, apart from his name and the ability to talk, we haven't got anything concrete to go on." After finishing whatever she was writing, the duo continued through the house, coming back to the room they were in previously. Angel had returned to his cushion on the floor, apparently quite content with just lying there while the two ponies investigated the thing that had threatened him not an hour earlier. Seeing Angel laying there, a thought suddenly occurred to Twilight.

"What happened to all the animals?"

"Angel said...Hector scared them away." At least he hadn't eaten them, Twilight thought. That would've made the situation more tragic than it needed to be. Although she wondered how he had managed to scare them away, given there was usually so many. Angel had tried to explain it to them, going as far as to draw another picture, but it still escaped them as to what had actually happened. Noting the mystery down, along with Angel's picture, Twilight once again returned to the investigation.

Standing aside for a few moments, Twilight allowed her friend to search the room to see if anything had been disturbed. Though when Fluttershy turned around and confirmed everything seemed fine, this brought forward more questions than answers. Sure, she was happy he hadn't destroyed Fluttershy's home, but then why had he broken in in the first place?

But after pushing forward, taking the investigation into Fluttershy's bedroom, Twilight regretted that she'd asked.

"Oh no." Fluttershy gave out a weak cry as she saw the state of her room. While for the most part everything was fine, the same could not be said for her small bookshelf. Books lay all across the floor, as did some of the ink and pens that had sat on her desk. Some of the books were even open; showing rips and tears from where they had made contact with the hard, wooden floor. The chest at the bottom of her bed also sat ajar, with much of its contents lying around it messily on the floorboards.

As Fluttershy headed for her chest of clothes and opened it, Twilight stood behind her, not really knowing what to do. The yellow Pegasus was sniffling again, and although she knew how to cheer her up when she was upset, Twilight didn't really feel she was actually sad. She looked hurt.

"Has he taken anything?" She guessed he probably hadn't, seeing as he only appeared to have had a book when they last saw him.

"N-no. Everything's still here." Giving a slow, wavering sigh of relief, she closed the lid of the chest and pushed it back into place. It wasn't neat, and everything had been aimlessly thrown in, but her bookshelf was a more immediate concern.

Seeing as it was her speciality, Twilight began levitating the books back in to the bookshelf. She made sure to show each one to Fluttershy before she did, seeing as Hector had apparently stolen one. Having replaced most of them, one book brought back a memory of what the captain had said to her earlier.

"You know, if you did like mares, like that, it wouldn't bother me or anything." Her words came out as rather forced, but she didn't want her friend to think she was ignoring the issue. She really didn't mind what her friends got up to, but she had no real idea of how to respond to something like this. There was a few seconds of silence before Fluttershy responded.

"I read one book. I don't see why that has to make me a filly fooler." Her rebuttal came back as cold and emotionless. Twilight tried to talk back, but Fluttershy just avoided eye contact, turning around to pick up some more books. Fearing she'd disappointed her, Twilight hurriedly attempted to fumble together an apology, but not before Fluttershy responded, this time with a small, bright smile on her face.

"Thank you."

With both of them silently agreeing to drop the matter, they returned to sorting the books back on to the shelf. Sorting the last one into the place, and having mostly repaired the broken ones, Twilight patiently waited for Fluttershy to decide what one had been stolen. It didn't take her long to figure it out; she only had two books there that weren't romance novels.

"He's taken my old field guide."

"Field guide?"

"Well, when I first came to Ponyville, I wanted to learn about all the animals. So I bought a field guide from the town hall, and went around looking for all them." Twilight cocked her head to the side, trying to piece together why he'd want a book about animals. "It showed all the areas where different kinds of little creatures lived, and I ticked each one off after I found them."

"Wait, it showed you where they were? Like with maps?"

"Oh yes. It shows different sections of the fields and forests." Seeing as it was Fluttershy, Twilight could see why such a book would be appealing. She even seemed to gleam talking about it.

But if the book did contain maps, that could explain why it was stolen. She didn't know what reason he had for a maps, but deduced it was because he didn't know his way around the area. You didn't exactly see many of his kind around Ponyville.

"Does it have maps of the town?"

"Maybe a few, but the book's meant for areas with wild life." Twilight had been to the town hall a few times, and knew it sold things for people coming to visit. Canterlot had the same sort of thing at the tourist centre, and seeing as the book was likely made to promote tourism in Ponyville, it would be silly not to have some form of town map in it somewhere.

That still didn't explain why he needed it though. Ponyville wasn't very large, and there were hardly many places for you to get lost. He could have even got a new one from town hall himself. Then again, maybe he just didn't want to be seen.

After finishing cleaning up the bookshelf and its surroundings, the pair returned to the living room downstairs. Still rather upset with what had happened, Fluttershy began sweeping up her floor. Twilight happily offered her hoof to help, levitating what she could out the door why Fluttershy swept up the rest.

With the floor clean, Twilight sat on the couch and looked over the notes she had gathered, reworking anything she had learned to be false.

She had no references to his ability to take down a Manticore, but judging from his claws, he would have no problem using tools. And while they weren't black, the tips at the end were. He also appeared to be able to walk on two legs indefinitely and without much effort on his part. He also didn't appear to solely eat ponies, seeing as he tried to eat nuts. Hector also seemed to be somewhat civilised despite his cruel demeanour, as he could read and wore clothes, although she didn't know why he needed to. He also bowed when introducing himself, which at the time seemed quite gentlecoltly.

That still left the issue of what to do about him. At this point it was getting late, and she still found no reference in her books as to what he actually was. Searching for him at night would most likely fruitless, seeing as he wore dark clothes. Spike would have more books ready back at the library, but she still doubted how useful they would be.

"We'll need to look for him tomorrow. It's getting late, and I'd rather not go after him on our own." She needed the others. Rainbow was fast, and she would be much better at giving chase should he try to escape again, as would Applejack, given how great she was during the running of the leaves. Plus she was strong, and having a greater number of ponies would likely give Hector a much harder time of escaping anyway.

"Should we tell them tonight? That way could start earlier tomorrow." Twilight stared at her friend, somewhat surprised at her eagerness.

"I'm surprised you want to find him."

"I know he was very mean, but I would still like to learn about him. And he didn't try to hurt us straight away. Maybe he was scared?" Twilight was inclined to disagree, given he had broken her ribs and hurt Fluttershy's feelings. And he didn't seem scared in the slightest. Then again, if she was approached by two strange ponies, she would have been wary of them as well. But that didn't explain what he'd done. She needed to know more about him to make a proper judgement. They'd found out he wasn't a rampaging monster with a blood lust for little ponies, so that was one thing he had going in his favour

"And yes, we'll try and tell them tonight. Hopefully we can get them all together for tomorrow morning." Maybe tomorrow they'd be a little more successful…and a little less broken.

While fate seemed to have sent him into yet another otherworldly forest, the promise of food at the other end was enough to keep Barbossa moving forward. Any kind of food would be welcome, but he would receive apples. While he enjoyed the fruit, most especially a granny smith, they were so damned expensive. Fruit was a rare thing, especially for those who sailed the seas. They kept little longer than a week, two maximum. And even then there was always the chance that when he finally made port to acquire some, there would be none available.

Apples and descent caviar were the only food he would willingly pay good money for. But not too good; while apples were rare, caviar was an expensive delicacy. But there were certain salesmen in Tortuga that procured both products, and Barbossa made it his duty to visit them whenever he dropped anchor there.

The trees leading to these apples were not thick, nor were they hard to get through. The book said that there was a set of orchards aptly named "Sweet Apple Acres" west of them. The land surrounded the town, and unless he arrived on someone's doorstep, it was assured he would reach either the orchards themselves or the conjoining farmland eventually. The time spent walking also gave him a chance to look over the book, mainly the pages containing information on animals.

"A Manticore?" After searching through a section on the forest he had apparently fell into, he finally found the creature he had slain. While there were fewer notes on this "Manticore" than the more adorable creatures, it still had notes scribbled around the picture. Apparently it was tameable.

"I'd like te see someone try." The brute had tried to kill him. If it could be tamed, he would willingly bow to any man who was successful in the endeavour. Or horse. It was still bizarre to think that this world was indeed filled with talking horses. His old mind had seen many wonders of the world, but it seemed this world held so much more to offer.

Almost losing his balance over a stray root, he replaced the book to his great coat, not willing to break his neck when he could simply read it later. It was in good timing too; he could see a large, red wooden building in the distance through the trees. It had white support beams and an aged, slightly damaged roof.

"A tad off course, then..." He was displeased he had lead himself to the farm land, but given they likely had harvested fruit there anyway, it would just take more effort on his part to reap his spoils. The orchards were hardly far; some apple trees noticeable beyond the wooden building. Coming closer, he realised the wooden hut was likely used for storage rather than living in, seeing as there was a whole manner of strange farming tools laying around it. It was likely an old stable or hayloft.

He thought it slightly ironic that the horses of this world were in charge of the farmland. He half expected a lowly human farmer to be tied down and grazing on grass. Stepping forward towards the edge of the trees, he finally came to a white picket fence. Like everything else in this world, it was slightly smaller than his frame was accustomed too. Not that it bothered him in this instance. On the contrary, it meant he barely had stretch to step over it. On the other side of the fence was the hayloft, meaning he already had suitable cover from the farmers.

Slowly peering around the end of the red hayloft, he narrowed his eyes, struggling to actually see any farmers. There was only two; an orange mare wearing a very nice hat, which Barbossa noted would not go unwanted should it be available, and a rather large red horse, which he deemed closer to being "normal" than the others he'd seen. They were bucking trees just beyond the field he was in, and collecting the bright red apples that fell from the branches. The orange one appeared rather strong, shaking an entire tree with one kick, but the red one seemed dangerous, apparently needing restraint to stop himself from destroying them. He made a mental note not to anger it, rather enjoying the thought of actually living.

It was only then he noticed that they had tattoos on their flanks, in the same fashion the yellow and purple ones from earlier had. They were hard to make out, but they were there. As far as he could tell, they were merely for decoration, but he wondered why they all appeared to be in the exact same location. Maybe it was a rite of passage, or simply the current fashion in this world. Either way, it didn't do much for his situation wondering about the horse's arses, so he instead began looking for something useful, seeing as the horses were in his way of his free fruit.

Suddenly hearing a heavy grunt, he noticed the large red one had begun moving from its position under the trees, heading towards the storage shed with a cart full of apples in tow. The orange one soon followed, trotting off to the left, outside the pirate's field of vision. The sun was setting, and he guessed they were likely heading in for the night, storing the produce before night fall to avoid it being bruised or stolen.

"I'll be sure te remedy that." Seeing as they had a fresh harvest, he doubted they would even notice if he stole half a dozen or so. The last cart alone held enough to feed a whole ship and its crew twice over!

"Did y'all lock the barn this time Big Mac?" The barn? Must be what they call the shed.

"That were just one time, and you know it!" The bickering between the horses went on for a few moments more before Barbossa heard the loud clanking of bolts at the front of the barn. Moving to the left side of the barn, he could see the two horses heading towards a small wooden house. Compared to the cottage from earlier, it looked normal; like something one would see in the poorer parts of London. It was maybe even a little desirable. He surmised maybe not all the beings in this world were as flamboyant as he thought.

Taking his chance, he crept around the side of the barn facing away from the house, and took a gander around the corner at the lock. The bolt didn't seem that big, despite the noise it had made, but it was a still a reasonable size bigger than he had hoped. It was likely made of solid iron or steel, and wasn't rusty enough to break with force. However, as it was facing the house, attempting to pry it open would be risky, opening it more so, seeing as it made quite an audible sound. He also couldn't muster the energy to go the long way to the orchard through the wood, having gone almost a day and a half without food already.

Not wanting to risk running passed the house, he went back behind the barn. Pulling out his sword, he wedged it between the wooden planks of the structure, twisting his blade to splinter the wood. He repeated the process until he could pull apart one of the planks, followed by another, at which point he pushed his way in the barn itself.

Sparing the many large bundles of hay, the sole use of the barn seemed to be storing apples. And they were there by the dozens; bushels and bushels of many different kinds. And one of every colour too; green, red, yellow and even orange. But everything was placed with the front door in mind, so getting through the barrels was awkward. Once in the centre, he looked at the many kinds of the fruit present around him. But seeking out his favourite, Barbossa went straight for the one filled with the bright green ones. Picking one out to taste, he was surprised by what he received.

"Delicious..." It was so juicy, and sweet, and sour. They were incredible. The skin didn't even catch his throat. Letting himself savour the flavour, he finished the apple he was eating and tossed the stem on the floor, having already eaten the core in its entirety. "Maybe this world wasn't a complete waste of me time."

After eating a three more of the juicy treats, he grabbed six more and put stowed them away in his pockets. Readying to leave, happy that he had enough to last at least another day, his heart sank when he heard the clank of a door and the accompanying turn of the hinge. Shoving his way over the bushels and barrels, he froze when the door finally opened.

"Ah don't see why ah should hafta get the royal galas. Big Mac were the one who forgot to bring em...in..."

Coming through a smaller door in the larger one at the front was a little yellow horse with a red mane, which itself was topped with a large pink bow. The pirate easily recognised her as one of the small foals he had met in the forest. He just stood there, half over a barrel of apples and smiling awkwardly when the little thing just screamed at him. Knowing full well what was about to happen, he bolted through the barrels, knocking more than a few over in the process of fleeing the barn. He could hear the sound of someone fast approaching from outside.

"Y'all promised it wouldn't come for me!" She was talking to someone outside; having ran from the barn crying and wailing to whoever was there. He couldn't hear the other voice, but it was likely telling her to calm down. As much as he pitied the thing, it was neither the time nor the place to be attempting negotiations or apologies.

Not wasting any more of his precious seconds, fearful of the red one coming and removing him from this world in a manner he deemed less than pleasant, Barbossa crawled back through his makeshift door and jumped the fence. He ran towards the trees nearer the orchards, seeing as they were thicker than the ones he had come from.

"This is just not me day today..." Still running, he heard the little one yelling in the distance. Her voice was stern and angry, rather than the sadness he had expected from the wailing child..

"Ah will NOT calm down! It WERE in there! Y'all promised me! Y'all said it wouldn't be stupid enough to come ta the farm, well who ain't stupid enough now!"

"Tis not hers neither."

Continuing through the thick foliage of the orchards, Barbossa slowed to a brisk walk, thinking over his current situation. He had originally planned to get food, and search through the school at night, but after his run in on the farm, Barbossa felt less than motivated. The day had been long. Even before arriving in this world, the trip had been trying for him and his crew, not to mention cold. He was tired. Getting back to his own world was one thing, but falling o fatigue was an issue in of itself.

Adventuring further in the through the trees, the farm barely within eyesight of where he stood, he came across a small apple tree. While the tree wasn't exciting on its own, it was the small wooden house within the branches than called out to the pirate

Walking up to it, he peered through one of the small windows and, assured it was empty, half-heartedly crawled up the steps leading to a door. The tree house wasn't too unsightly, being painted red and pink, but the heart shaped shutters were somewhat too feminine for the honourable captain.

Being careful and assuring it could indeed take his weight, he forced his way through the small door, pleasantly surprised of its interior. It had curtains and small furnishings, as well as some pictures fixed around the walls. There was even a crudely drawn map of the town, although it wasn't something he could see himself using any time soon. Sitting in the middle of the floor, he finally noticed a small portrait of three horses sitting on a small, turquois table. It was the three children he had found in the forest.

"I'm doubtful they'll be comin' here anytime soon." After the event at the barn, he was sure they wouldn't want to risk coming into the nearby orchards. Even if they did, he doubted it would be the day after they'd seen a monster nearby. But he didn't care either way. Even if they found him, the small tree house offered him a roof and a few precious hours sleep.

Taking of his hat and placing it on the floor, he made himself comfortable, using it as a makeshift pillow. It wasn't the best place he had slept in, but it was far from uncomfortable. Taking one last look at the rising moonlight, he closed his eyes, none too eager to find out what the next day would bring.


	5. Swords Crossed

**Chapter 5 - Swords Crossed**

Despite the day still being young, and the more relaxed residents of Ponyville still in their homes, Twilight was adamant her friends meet her early. She and Fluttershy had visited them the night before, telling those who were unaware of the strange creature stalking the grounds of their town. While some needed more convincing than others to visit the library before noon, those who had already been involved with the creature were all too happy to help.

"Get on with it Twilight." Rainbow Dash was the one who needed convincing.

Her friends were sat on their haunches in front of a large blackboard that Twilight had set up. Along with what she had written, there were also pieces of paper and some small pictures, one of which was a rather crudely drawn sketch by Angel. Despite having more knowledge on the matter than her friends, Fluttershy still sat on the floor, eager to hear what else her purple friend had to say.

"All right. Most of you already know about the incident with the Crusaders in Everfree forest..."

Rainbow and Pinkie Pie simply shook their heads. Twilight had told them they would be helping to look for an animal, but not much else. Then again, that's what the meeting was for.

"They were apparently attacked by a strange animal in the forest. Today, we're going to look for it." The two ponies just widened their eyes, Rainbow now feeling a lot less tired and Pinkie a little less active. However, Twilight was quick to reassure everyone present.

"Don't worry, they're fine. However, I don't believe it is a monster. We met him after he came out of Fluttershy's house, and-"

"It was in Fluttershy's house?" Twilight inwardly groaned. Dash was a great friend, but she would be a better one if she didn't interrupt her explanations. After giving the light blue Pegasus an accusing stare, and Rainbow quickly hushing up, Twilight continued with her account of what happened.

"We met him at Fluttershy's cottage yesterday. His name is Hector Barbossa. He said he was a captain and w-" This time Pinkie was the one who interrupted.

"What's he a Captain of? Oooh, is he a pirate?" This time grumbling audibly, Twilight was about to give her the same look she'd given to Dash before realising...

"He might be, actually. He talked kinda piratey. Spike, write that down." Promptly doing so on a small piece of paper, Spike finished the note and stuck it up on the board with the rest.

"I'll start again. We met him yesterday at Fluttershy's cottage. His name is Captain Hector Barbossa. He had stolen a book, and when we approached to talk, he talked back. He called Fluttershy names, made her cry and kicked me in to the river. We don't know where he is now, or what his motives are, but there are things we now know about him."

Pausing to give the information time to sink in, she watched as everyone bar Fluttershy started frowning and asking questions. Even Spike looked upset, but then Twilight had vowed to tell them all at once rather than letting them whisper among themselves. Rarity thought it was some sort of hell spawn who tried to eat her little sister, while Applejack saw him as a pony attacking thief.

"Now, I know you all have questions, but please wait until I've finished. While I appreciate your input," she motioned to Pinkie Pie. "I'd like to explain everything we know before we add new ideas."

Seeing everybody silently nod, Twilight cleared her throat and began her presentation.

"Right. First off, what he actually looks like. I know I'm not the best at drawing, but this is him." She pointed towards a sketch of the captain. It wasn't crudely done, but Twilight knew it didn't do Hector justice. It was a rough sketch, made completely in ink, featuring his main body and long legs. She couldn't get his clothes right, but made sure to draw his big jacket, boots and hat, seeing as they were the easiest and most identifiable. She also gave him beard, but it was nothing much like the one he had; stretching up towards his ear and extending down his torso.

"As you can see, he permanently stands on his hind legs, and has long forelegs with claws, like Spike." Spike waved with a smile and waggled his fingers. "He doesn't need to balance himself, and his hind legs are strong enough to kick an average pony down. His forelegs are flexible, and he has the ability to grab stuff like Spike can. He wears a large jacket with more clothes underneath, boots, and a greenish bandanna under his hat. I don't think he has much fur either, but he had a small beard and some more on his head."

While everyone mostly just remained silent, Pinkie often ooh and aahed at something that caught her interest. Twilight had no doubt they would know who he was if they saw him, but at the very least she hoped her description would at least give them an idea of what they were dealing with.

"And as I said before, he can talk. He also seems intelligent, as he can read, as well as...plan attacks. He also doesn't seem to like eating flowers, oats, nuts or hay, but may enjoy apples. As far as tools go, he apparently has a sword of sorts and a thing that explodes, but I couldn't see them. They might have been under his jacket though. And…that's pretty much it. Any questions?"

Instead of what she expected, everyone kept quiet. She knew her collage of information on the captain was informative, but she'd expected someone to ask something, or at least put a new idea forward. Eventually Rainbow raised her hoof to catch Twilights attention.

"So...does it eat ponies or not?"

"I don't know. Maybe. But he didn't eat me or Fluttershy, and he took the time to break into the Apple's barn to steal food. He might be an omnivore." Rainbow just stared back at Twilight with a blank expression on her face.

"It means he might eat meat as well as vegetation. But he seems talkative. Don't just assume he's going to eat you if you see him."

While it was easy for Twilight to say that, trying to talk to a creature that potentially had a thing for spit roasted pony wasn't something the others fancied risking their time doing. But they trusted her, and at the very least she'd convinced them that the creature wasn't a bloody thirsty killing machine. Pinkie even seemed somewhat excited.

"But the fact remains we still have to look for him. He seems smart and, as much as it pains me to say this, not completely evil. If talking fails to work, we'll have to catch him. Besides, I doubt he'd be much of a problem if we cornered him in a group. He had to resort to pushing me into a river to get away last time, after all."

Despite how hesitant a few of them seemed, it wouldn't be the first time they'd faced something bigger or stronger than they were. Fluttershy had dealt with Dragons and Manticores, and at the very least the others had fought numerous Changelings at once.

"So how we gonna go about doing' this?" Applejack brought Twilight to her next point of interest. She was so glad she planned all this out beforehoof.

"We'll need to split up into groups; Rainbow and Rarity, Applejack and Pinkie, and finally, me, Spike and Fluttershy." She had thought long and hard about whom to pair everyone off with. She wanted at least one pony with strength or flight in each group, to assure that at least one could catch or fight Hector off. She also didn't want any one group paired in such a way that allowed Barbossa to have an advantage. Plus she needed to bring Spike along anyway.

"And if you find him, try talking to him. Ask what he wants, and maybe we can help him. In the end, hopefully he'll either go away on his own, or tell us why he's here." Rarity spoke up soon after Twilight had finished. She asked somewhat calmly, but it was obvious she was still worried.

"Twilight dear, I do trust you, really I do. But what if it does attack us?" Twilight had thought about it. She had to. But she didn't know the danger he posed, or whether he had the tools the Crusaders and Angel claimed he did. In the end, if talking should fail, she chose to play it safe.

"If you think you could take him quickly or by surprise, do it. But keep your distance. We don't fully know what he's capable of."

Continuing to read his new book, Barbossa quietly sat alone in the small tree house. He had been awake for at least an hour, and due to changes in his plan, he pondered his next move. His planned raid on the school wasn't going to happen now, seeing as it was the middle of the day. Children went to school during the day, and seeing as they didn't seem to like him here, he thought it best to not push his luck. However, he was fast running out of ideas.

He furrowed his brow and pinched the bridge of his nose. He didn't know what to do. He'd even considered going back into Everfree and jumping around until he found the way he'd originally came through. He'd had saner ideas though, like searching for the public library, or simply asking a local for assistance. That was likely what he should have done when he had the chance.

"Bugger."

Looking back, it was hardly the best idea he'd ever had. Sure, he got away with the book, and he wasn't sat in a prison cell, but at what cost? From what he'd read in the book, the yellow one was practically like a child, fawning over how "fuzzy" and "pudgy" even the harsher animals were. And the purple one had even acted cordially towards him; she may have even helped him. Maybe if he'd let her get a word in edgeways he would have listened. But no, he'd thought himself above the prim purple creature and kicked her in the river.

He'd also likely cemented his new reputation too. Assuming the animals from yesterday didn't know the children, he could have easily asked them for help, but doing the same now would be significantly harder. He'd never been one to ask for help before; his pride didn't allow it. Help was for the faint hearted, and unless a problem could be solved on your own or with your own men, it wasn't worth the hassle solving. But perhaps this would have been the one time to push his pride to one side. But hindsight was a wonderful thing and if he had to approach a talking horse for help, he may as well have some say in which one it was. He didn't fancy letting the authorities or the big red one find him first.

Coming to the conclusion that he had to leave the small tree house, he closed the book and returned it to one of his pockets. As much as actually enjoyed reading about all the different creatures that could kill him, it wasn't getting anything done. While his patience was strained due to the lack of progress in getting home, his confidence wasn't. It may take time, but he wouldn't be stuck in this world forever, he wouldn't let Jack keep the Pearl, and he certainly wouldn't let anyone but him take credit for saving the seas. There wasn't anyone who could continue his plan, but assuming someone else just so happened to think of it, he had still thought of it first.

Leaving the small abode in no poorer a state than when he'd entered; he forced his way back out of the small door. Getting out was more awkward than getting in, given his size and the ramped steps at the entrance, but he was soon stood outside no worse for wear. Having read about the surrounding area beforehand, the pirate had a rough idea of what parts of the town lay where. To his left was the way he came and, consequentially, Everfree forest, while somewhere to his right was the main entrance to Ponyville.

Not planning to simply take the entrance into a strange, foreign town, he instead planned to find an alleyway or side street to hide in. Hopefully then he could monitor how many animals were actually there and maybe even find one to talk to. Approaching a large group didn't entice him, seeing as they'd likely want to harm him now, but if there was one wandering on their own, he could gain their trust and use them to further his own ends. It was fool proof.

"I'd like te see Jack cope this well." He gave out a hearty, cackled laugh. He envied Jacks ability to plan things as they went along, sure, but surely even Jack would struggle with what was happening.

Then again, he'd likely become the centre of attention like he always did. The horses would probably even like him for it too. It seemed like the kind of thing Jack would make happen for himself.

Groaning Jacks idealistic experience away, Barbossa got back to his previous line of thought. He would have to head back towards the farm in order to reach the outskirts of Ponyville. The buildings there would surely be enough cover, at least until he could judge what course of action to take.

Once the farm was squarely in his sights, he realised that despite the size of the land, there were no farm hands or apple pickers. Not even the two from last night. Surely they weren't they only ones who picked all these trees?

"If they are, they ain't holy." Putting the image of two monstrous horses endlessly destroying trees to one side, he saw the red one come out from the barn. It was pulling the cart from the night before, filled to the brim with barrels and bushels apples.

He was probably heading off to sell them, seeing as Barbossa had likely bruised more than a few of the stock during his semi-successful raid on their stores. Keeping behind a tree, he watched as the large red horse eventually left the confines of the farm, going through a large wooden arch and eventually out of sight.

The captain pondered heading back down for more food, seeing as no one was actually present on the farm, but he soon tossed the idea out of his mind. He still had four apples, and despite how empty it appeared, there was likely someone around somewhere.

Choosing to instead take the more interesting route he had already planned, he made his way for the outskirts of town. While the maps he had didn't show all the alleyways and side streets, he assumed it would be easy enough to navigate.

Walking around, making sure to keep to the shadows, he didn't see anything of any worth around the town's boundaries. Ponyville also didn't appear to be as clear cut as he'd thought, with buildings having apparently been built wherever there was space. The lack of coordination also meant there weren't many streets he could simply walk into.

It also meant there weren't many places to hide. If he wanted to get into Ponyville, this wasn't the way to go about doing it. Not that he needed to actually go in; the sounds of chatter and vendors haggling gave him a good idea of what was going on in town anyway.

"A market place…" While he had to stay between the trees, he could still see into a few of the streets. Most were busy, and if it was still as early as he thought it was, they weren't going to get quieter anytime soon. He didn't know if markets were different in this world, but he wasn't going to make another stupid mistake. If he wanted someone's assistance, he would have to make do with finding a lone wanderer and working it out from there.

Continuing along the route to the front gate, he kept close to the trees and surrounding bushes. He wouldn't walk directly into town, but if he waited long enough, someone was likely to walk by the front gate on their own. All he'd need to do was come up with a way to earn their trust. Maybe if he offered food or-

"I found it! Applejack! Look, look. Over there!"

Turning around, there was now, somehow, a bright pink horse about ten yards away from him, sitting in between a few trees. She was ushering someone else towards her and pointing in his direction. He couldn't help but laugh at how ridiculous some of their colour schemes were. The other one appeared to be the orange farmer with the nice hat.

" Mr Pirate " The pink one was waving at him now. Not like the rabbit had; it was as if she was glad to see him. Her friend didn't seem too happy though.

Barbossa stood there, waiting for them to make the first move. The pink one seemed...friendly enough, but he wasn't sure about the other one. He'd seen it kicking the trees; if she attacked him, he'd have to fight back. Unlike Twilight and Fluttershy, he knew she could hurt him.

However, as much as he had planned to talk to one, now that he had the chance, he didn't really know what to say. The horses appeared to be thinking along the same lines. The farmer was anyway, the pink one just kept waving at him.

"Y'all stole my apples!" So they wanted to talk. She had blurted it out, probably looking for something to say, but it proved they wanted to talk to him. And that boded very well indeed.

"Aye. What of it?" In an attempt to seem sociable, the captain walked towards them. But to his surprise, they both suddenly moved back. Even the pink one seemed a little less bright..

"Y...y'all need to pay for what you took..." She was trying to act confident, but it was failing.

"Fine." The pirate reached into his jacket and pulled out a small bag of coins. He doubted they were acceptable, being Spanish silver, but if it was simply to prove good faith, it was good enough for him. He picked out four reales and held them out. "Here."

They were too out of range to reach for the coins, but if anything he hoped it would bring them towards him. Not that he needed to attack this time; his priorities had changed. Seeing as he needed some locals to help, it might as well be these two. They didn't seem too trusting of him though. Apparently money wasn't a big enough incentive in this world.

"Will ye be takin' me coins or not?" The horses still didn't move. The pink one had even ceased waving, taking up the same worried stance as her friend. The pirate crudely groaned.

"Do I have to toss 'em te ye?" He had shouted it an attempt at sarcasm, but to his surprise, the orange one nodded. Rolling his eyes, he threw each coin at the mare, one by one. He watched as her worried expression replaced itself with a furrowed frown and half scrunched eyes.

"These ain't no bits!"

"Aye, they be Spanish silver reales. And four be more than plenty for the apples I took, of that ye can be sure." She didn't seem as pleased by the offering as Barbossa had hoped, glaring at him from where she stood.

"They be all I've got. Shall I be taken' 'em back?" He asked with a crooked smile on his face and his hand stretched out, and as he had expected, she kept the coins. Not that she looked pleased about it.

"Uh...T-thank ya kindly...But ah still don't trust you."

"And why be that then?" The pink one answered this time, puffing out her cheeks as she glowered over at him.

"Because you hurt our friends."

"You must be speakin' of Miss Sparkle and her friend. It were nothin' personal, I assure ye." Maybe kicking down that horse really wasn't the correct course of action to take. However, he would just have to try harder to compensate. Once again attempting to move forward, this time slower and with his hands in the air, he was pleased to see the two horses stayed put.

"Me intentions are strictly honourable, and it were merely down te unfortunate circumstance that I took the actions I did." He said clearly. "If I could go back te change it, ye can be first to know I would, but if ye'll just hear out a poor o-"

Suddenly feeling a huge pressure on his back, Barbossa grunted as he was forced face first to the ground. Attempting to look up, all he could see were white flashes and sparkling shapes that weren't there. His head wasn't much better, still throbbing from the impact. Finally coming to his senses, and realising he had been shoved on to the ground from behind, he looked up to see a blue horse with...a rainbow mane?

"Are you guys okay?"

"What're y'all doin' Rainbow? He were talkin' just fine!" Barbossa didn't know what was going on, but the farmer sounded angry. Not as angry as he felt, though..

"Twilight said to take him down if we could. And I'm pretty sure he didn't see it coming." And the new one sounded cocky. Too cocky.

Pressing one elbow against the ground, he slowly pushed himself to his feet, but before he could respond to what had happened he felt two hooves push against his ribcage and send him back to the floor. Opening his eyes, more controlled than he rightly should have been, he looked up at the horse aptly named Rainbow.

"Yer pushin' me…" He growled at her, spitting as he spoke. The other two clearly knew Twilight, and while they seemed ready to listen to him, he couldn't say the same for this…Rainbow. She was already getting on his nerves.

"Yeah, well that's what you get for trying to eat my friends." Giving the pirate another light nudge to the chest, he clumsily fell back to his previous position on the ground. Gritting his teeth together, he clenched his fists before getting back to his knees.

"I don't know why Twilight said to be careful. It doesn't seem so tough." She turned around to face Applejack, rather proud of her accomplishment.

Grabbing the rainbow tail in front of him, he yanked it back while attempting to stand up. The shift in movement allowed him to swing the blue mare back behind him while he caught his balance. Too shocked to react to the pirate, Rainbow ended up being forcefully flung into the trunk of a tree.

Not one to stay down after hitting a tree, Rainbow flew straight for the captain. But having his senses returned to him, he easily saw her coming and pulled out his sword, slamming the hand guard into her face. Hearing a crack and a grunt of pain, he trembled on his feet before looking down at her.

"That'll teach ye to mess with me." Spite dripping from his mouth, he stared down at his former opponent. His legs hurt, and his back was aching, but by god, he wouldn't let anyone down him and get away with it. He didn't believe attacking the other two would help in any way at this point, but the blue one had been asking for it. Praying his loose temperament hadn't lost him his chance at speaking with the other two, he sheathed his sword and announced back to the horse with the fetching hat.

"Now," he caught his breath, clutching his sore chest. "I'm guessin' I'll be gravely regrettin' doin' what I just did, as well as the madness that occurred wi' Miss Sparkle, but I assure ye, there be r-"

Catching him in the side, the winged horse sent him slamming back to the ground, barely missing a tree as he fell. With the blue horse standing over him he elbowed the mare in the ribcage, hoping it would at least give him a chance to stand. After cantering slowly backwards, the pirate got back to his feet and once again pulled out his sword. Jumping up in the air, Rainbow began flapping her wings, hovering in mid-air with her forelegs outstretched like fisticuffs. He knew deep down he would regret doing this, but he wouldn't let something like her make a fool of someone like him.

"Ye bloody INGRATE! What the hell's yer problem!" He stared her down, still wheezing from his kick to the chest.

"You are! You hurt me and friends, and you expect to get away with it?"

Suddenly diving forward and bucking him in the shins, the captain felt his legs forcibly give way under him. Not letting her get another shot in, he elbowed the same spot in her sides he had hit before, and shoved her out of the air. As she hit the ground, he heard a loud crack and wail of pain from the mare as she clutched one of her forelegs. This was going all wrong. He'd only meant to teach her a lesson, not begin a timberland brawl with her! She was ruining his chances!

Standing above her, he lurched back as she flew up and bit his hand, taking hold of his sword as it fell from his grasp. Catching the hilt in her mouth, she flew out of his reach and dropped it into a nearby tree.

"Ha. What you gonna do now?" She was shaking, and her snout was covered in blood, but she still somehow found the energy to shake her flank at him and make crude noises with her tongue. He'd had enough. He didn't care anymore. She was making a fool of him, and as far as he was concerned, any better man would have given into temptation and killed her long ago. Clutching his stomach, he smiled and gave out a cackled laugh before pulling out his flintlock, aiming it towards her.

"I'll be shootin' ye down, that's what!" The blue mare just stared at him, before widening her eyes in realisation. "I'd like te see ye be so hardy when ye can't fly!"

He would treat her like the rabbit. He'd simply fire a shot close to her, scare her silly, and force the others to listen. If his rare acts of kindness weren't getting their attention, he would make them listen instead. Besides, if he just so happened to clip her wings, he wouldn't be the one complaining.

Readying the trigger, and aiming for the tree at her side, he was ready to fire when the pistol just…moved. He just stood there, mouth hanging open as the pistol floated in the air in front of his face. Reaching out for it, he flinched as it flew away from him and towards a white unicorn. She was out of breath, and her purple mane was ragged and frayed.

"Think yer all smart with yer fancy sword." The farmer spun a rope multiple times in the air from her tail before whipping it towards Barbossa, quickly looping it over his mid-section.

"Let's see how y'all like what we got!"

Flailing his arms in confusion, and somewhat frustrated he was being treated like a common animal, he angrily moved to remove the rope, only for another to snag around the previous one, along with his right arm. This was getting out of hand. He didn't need this.

"Wait a bloody minute!" He jumped back in an attempt to pull the rope from her grasp, only for it to fail miserably and instead give her a chance to pull him to the ground. Lying on the ground, and getting his left arm to support himself, he pushed himself up into a sitting position.

"Yippee ki yay!" The pink one then attempted to recreate the feat her friend had, only for the rope to fall apart and hit the pirate in the face.

In a final attempt to get himself heard, he grabbed the ropes and forcefully pulled them in his direction, dragging the orange horse down tail first along with them. Grunting in pain, he kneeled forward in an attempt to stand, still finding it slightly hard to breath. The pink one and the farmer were quiet, and the cocky one was sat off to the side nursing her leg.

"Finally…if…ye'll j…just LISTEN te me!" Slamming his fist on the ground and letting air escape his nostrils, he prepared to finally speak his piece only to feel something hard connect with the back of his head. Appearing to keep stance for a few moments, the heated look on his face faded as he collapsed to the ground.

Dropping the branch to the ground and carefully walking up to the pirate, Rarity prodded his stomach multiple times before carefully shaking him. Pinkie then proceeded to do the same by poking his face with a stick before turning back around to her friends.

"Heeeeee's outta here!"

"What do you suppose we should do now? We can't just leave it here." Rarity asked curiously. While they'd had a briefing on what to do, Twilight had focused on finding and talking to the creature rather than defeating it.

"Ah reckon we should go get Twilight." Seeing as they had no other options available to them, they all agreed and sent Pinkie in search or their purple friend. After she'd gone, Applejack turned to face a rather bloody Rainbow Dash.

"Although we might not have needed to if somepony hadn't got all prissy an' attacked 'im!"

"Oh sure. Feel sorry for the giant. It isn't like he broke my leg or anything." She sniffled before wincing in pain.

"But y'all were the one what started it! Me and Pinkie were fine, discussin' money and whatnot with 'im. He even paid me back for the apples he took." Not the correct kind of money, granted, but that wasn't the point she wanted to make right now.

"He had a sword, Applejack. A sword!"

"And ah sure as hay don't see you cut into little iddy biddy pony pieces. If he wanted to use it, ah'm pretty darn sure he would have." Rainbow could tell her friend was right, but turned her head towards the ground rather than admitting it.

"I thought he was gonna attack you and Pinkie Pie. He had his legs in the air and everything. Twilight even said we don't know what he could do."

"And ah thank you for it, sugar cube. But we mighta saved a whole lotta hassle if ya hadn't got all ahead o' yerself. I'm not sayin' he didn't deserve it, but he were at least tryin' to talk to us about somethin'. We should probably get y'all to the hospital too. Ya didn't exactly fare too well against 'im in yer little fight."

"Fine." she struggled onto her good hooves and leaned against Applejack. "But only once I'm sure you can deal with him..."

"That's all very well and good, but what do we should with it?" Rarity motioned to the unconscious mass on the ground. "What if it wakes up?"

"Don't y'all worry nothin'. Why'd ya think I brought the rope?"

**Author's Note: As a wee side note, while I plan to go over and tweak older chapters, the complexities of life have caught up with me, so new chapters will take priority for the moment. It's on my to do list though. On another note, eight reales were worth one piece of eight. A piece of eight could also be split into 8 pieces, with each piece still being worth one real.**


	6. Parlay

**Chapter 6: Parlay**

Everything ached. His back, his legs, his head. Most especially his head. It was as if cannon fire was going off and his skull was attempting to fight back. He didn't know if he was drunk, dead or dying, but he was sure it was one of them. Or maybe even all three.

"Mary mother o' God..."

Reaching up to rub his temple, he suddenly realised something. He couldn't. His arms were bound. The prickling feeling of rope was scratching against his hands and wrists. And the pressure was tight around his legs and torso as well as on his back. There was also the sickly sweet smell of pastries and cakes. Raspberry. It felt warm.

Quickly opening his eyes, he flinched back, seeing a bright pink horse breathing into his face, smiling with her eyes wide open.

"Hello Mr. Sleepy head," it said, turning away from him, "Twilight! He's up."

"What the..?"

Shaking his arms, they defied to move against the rope, which also seemed to be tied to a small wooden chair.

The pirate watched as the purple unicorn eagerly climbed down from a ladder and rushed towards him, almost knocking her friend over in the process. Trying to grab hold of his senses, he looked around his current location. It was musty, and there were colourful books lying everywhere around him, piled in neat, even stacks. The building also appeared very ambitious, stretching into the sky, with bookshelves going just as high themselves in some places. Everything was made of clean cut wood, with the shelves being much darker than the rest of the furniture. It was a library.

Sparing the pink and purple horses, there was also three more at the other end of the room, as well as what appeared to be a small...dragon? Focusing his gaze and lowering his eyebrows, he could see his things. His jacket, as well as its contents, lay heaped on the floor in the middle of the group, each member of which was holding something that belonged to him. Even his hat was being toyed with. Clenching his teeth and gathering his strength, he violently shook from side to side, fighting against the ropes that tied him down.

"You can try all you want Hector, but I cast a stasis spell on the chair and the rope. You're not going anywhere."

Taking her up on the kind offer, he did try and escape his prison. But the chair was built like iron, and the ropes did nothing but flex under the movement, even becoming tighter the more he struggled against them. Growing tired under the pointless struggle, he stopped for breath before instantly wasting even more effort trying again.

"Finished?" Twilight said confidently.

He yelled out at the purple mare, bearing his teeth and widening his eyes, but not before attempting one last time at escaping. But the chair still didn't move, and neither did the rope. Accepting his fate, he straightened his back and looked down at the horse, a faux smile resting on his lips.

"A pleasure te be seein' ye again, Miss Sparkle. Te what do I owe this most gratifying honour?"

"You put my friend in hospital, Hector. Not mention hurting me and upsetting Fluttershy. What do you think the honour is? Think yourself lucky I even chose to heal you."

Healed? He didn't feel very healed. The others had since turned around to face him, seemingly more interested in him than his belongings.

"So not a friendly kidnappin' then?"

"We haven't kidnapped you. We've restrained you."

Her friends nodded along with her.

"Aye, a wise choice too; I can't say I'm too fond of ye after striken' me down," he crookedly smiled back at the group, "but I assume ye have some form of proposition for me? Seein' as ye went te all the hassle of tyin' me down in yer magic chair."

He knew from experience to get negotiations under way as soon as possible, especially since his current situation was anything but what he was used too. Usually a kidnapping involved fighting your way out, or giving the captor an offer they couldn't refuse. But not only did escaping seem unlikely, given his current predicament, but he had no idea what was actually going on in their heads. They were talking horses for Christ's sake.

"We just want to talk to you."

Barbossa eyed her cautiously. They'd went to an awful lot of effort to simply talk to him. He'd assumed they wanted to do something along the lines of warrant his arrest, seeing as he had two accounts of thievery and another two accounts of assault on his already tarnished new record.

"What manner of talkin'?"

"Just questions. There are a lot of things we'd like to know about you."

She seemed quite happy about how things were going, even going as far as to compassionately smile at him. But he guessed it was likely to due to his lack of freedom more than anything else. However, he could make use of this.

"But if I have te answer your questions, Miss Sparkle, then you in turn must answer mine."

This was a brilliant turn of events. Sure, he was captured in...some sort of magical chair, and at the mercy of multicoloured mares, but he'd have a chance to find out whatever he wanted if he played his cards right.

"Do we have an' accord?"

"Oh, of course," She said, eagerly nodding her head, "that was easy. And call me Twilight."

"Whatever ye say, Miss Sparkle."

He gave a sly grin, slightly raising his eyebrows. Just because he was the detainee, it didn't mean he couldn't try and enjoy himself. He also felt rather stupid calling someone Twilight. Miss Sparkle seemed more refined, if only ever so slightly. She should take him calling her that as a compliment.

"But first and foremost, where am I?"

"Ponyville Public Library," she answered with a smile.

Not believing that anyone could be that dense, he rolled his eyes and grated his teeth before asking again.

"Aye, I got that much. But where, pray tell, is…Ponyville."

As funny as the names in this world were, he controlled himself enough to ask the question. Finding out what he wanted did take priority over laughing at his captors.

"Uh, Equestria," the mare answered casually.

While he had no problem with her answering what he asked, it still annoyed him at how simple some of the names were. And was everything named after horses? Then again, right now that wasn't really important.

"And be there a way out?" he asked seriously.

"A...a way out?" she asked, cocking her head, "I guess you could go over the boarders into Gryphus, if that's what you mean. But that's going into griffin territory."

Scrunching his nose, he shook his head. He would ask about the griffins later.

"I mean out of this world. I didn't begin in this world, Miss Sparkle, and I'm not plannin' te spend the rest o' me days here either. I fell from the sky above that bloody forest. I fell from my world and into yours. And I be sure as hell wantin' a way back out."

"You're fro...from another world?"

The rest of the group just blinked along with Twilight, confused and surprised at what he was saying.

"How is that even possible?"

"In my world, there be an afterlife; Davy Jones Locker, and me crew and I were headin' there te rescue...an old friend from the everlasting turmoil a never ending sentence poses, but for some reason I didn't make it. There be a way out o' Jones' Locker, and I assume the same logic be applicable here. I just don't know where that logic lies."

The group just stared at him, obviously unprepared for what he had said. Twilight would have been quick to question his claim, if not for the simple fact she had neither seen or heard of anything like him. She had read many books on the many creatures that roamed their world, and nothing even came close to what he was.

"So...y'all don't know nothin' about what happened?"

Looking at the horse with the nice hat, the first one there, spare for Twilight, who actually seemed willing to talk to him, Barbossa accepted to himself that he didn't. He had no idea how it had happened. The only being he knew in his world capable of this kind of magic would be Calypso, and seeing as he had the idea to free her, sending him to another world would gain her less than nothing. And seeing as no man apart from him had been brought here, circumstance was his main guess of how it had happened.

Or perhaps fate. His last resort of reasoning was fate. If Calypso herself were here, that would surely be her reasoning, her belief. Everyone had a fate to fulfil. Maybe his existed here.

"No. Not for the time bein'."

"And is this what y'all were tryin' te tell us this mornin'?"

"I wasn't plannin' on tellin' the whole story, but aye, I was. At least until yer friend saw it fit te take me down."

Ignoring his comment towards Rainbow, not wanting to start any arguments while he was somewhat calm, Twilight once again took hold of the conversation.

"So...you want our help?"

"Seein' as I have next to nothin' to know about this world, and as yer the one offerin', then aye..."

He grumbled. Owing a favour was never a desired situation in his book, but being offered help, that was a different story. And if all he had to pay was answering her questions, then there was nothing for him to lose. He was surprised the negotiations were going as smooth as they were.

"...yer assistance would be appreciated."

"Um...well...we could help you, I guess. Right guys?"

As well intentioned as her question was, everyone in the room just eyed each other, unsure of how to respond. Rainbow was in hospital, Fluttershy had been bullied, Twilight had been injured and Applejack and Rarity both had sisters who had been scared half to death; all because of him. Applejack seemed somewhat more passive about what had happened, but Rarity had taken it to heart. Seeing their responses, Barbossa decided to offer his own spin on his situation, attempting a less than threatening grin while doing so.

"Just keep in mind, the sooner ye be finden' me a way back, the sooner I'll be able te leave."

Their looks of apprehension didn't fade away. The realisation was there, but most still seemed inclined to avoid helping him, simply on a manner of principle. Twilight knew they could be brought around, but given what he had already done, it would take time. She had been the one to offer help, yet even she still found it somewhat hard to look him in the eyes.

But she knew helping someone in need was always the right thing to do, and he certainly seemed to be in need. He wasn't the nicest creature she'd met, but he also wasn't the worst. If he was truly unworthy of their help, he wouldn't be sat there talking to them. Right?

"It's still kinda sad."

Everyone turned around to face Pinkie as she sat there, sniffling and rubbing her hooves over her eyes. Her hair was limp and her behaviour was bleak compared to the bouncy nature of her previous antics.

"You went to rescue a friend who died, and you got lost before you could help him..."

"Aye, tis' a cryin' shame, but Jack can fare well enough on his own two feet."

His response was quick and inconsiderate, but still held a glimmer of truth, much to the chagrin of Barbossa himself. He had no idea of the prisons Jones created for those he took, but he remained motivated in knowing Jack was likely suffering some form of torture.

"We've got a friend called Jack. Well, kinda like Jack."

The pink one grabbed the farmer and pulled her into the pirates line of sight. She sat there, smile wavering as beads of sweat rolled down from her forehead.

"And what be yer name, exactly?"

While his question was directed at the farmer, it applied to the rest of those present as well. If he was to let them...assist him, he would at least call them by name. He was nothing if not fair to those who served him well. Those who weren't simply faced his sword. But restraint, he thought, would be a wise thing to practice while he was here.

"Applejack."

Barbossa grimaced. One his favourite things in life coupled with one of the worst. However, it was still the least ridiculous name he had heard thus far. Making fun of their names wouldn't be a smart move any more anyway. He looked toward the other two horses and the dragon expectantly, wanting to attempt a somewhat dignified introduction despite the earlier occurrences.

"I'm...Rarity. It's a pleasure...Hector."

The white one cringed, straining her smile. But to Barbossa's surprise she offered her hoof, although he realised it was due to the fact he couldn't offer his in return, rather than out of courtesy. The pink one instead took a more direct approach; gripping the man in a tight, heartfelt hug.

"My name's Pinkie Pie!"

Her hug was real. Not like the traditional greeting Rarity had offered. Barbossa felt as if Pinkie actually cared. Not that he needed her care, of course, but knowing that at least one was willing to give support out of loyalty rather than circumstance was comforting.

"You...smell...a lot..."

Feeling the hug had been held long enough, and not able to physically respond, he cleared his throat. After another tight squeeze, she let go and moved to reveal the little dragon standing before him.

"And I'm Spike."

Barbossa looked him over for a few seconds, somewhat eager to test his theory.

"Are ye a dragon?"

The purple reptile stood there, nodding and giving him a slight wave of his hand. If he ever one day saw a dragon, the pirate assumed it'd be…more. His small, stout and chubby stature made it less than threatening, and it's bright purple scales and green spines did nothing to help. In the end, the pirate felt somewhat disappointed.

"Yer a bit small te' be a dragon."

"Well, I am just a baby dragon."

Maybe he'd get to see a proper dragon at some point then. Spike left him somewhat wanting in the mythical creature department. Preferable over a unicorn, but still somewhat lacking.

To his left, Twilight sat clearing her throat, eyeing her friends before looking up at him, disapproval blatant on her face. Wondering what he done this time, and about to defend his currently noble intentions, she spoke to him. It wasn't a kind voice. More akin to one a parent gives to a disobedient child.

"And you already know me and Fluttershy."

She placed special emphasis on the latter name.

Looking past the purple unicorn, Barbossa could see the horse in question standing at the back of the group. Shuffling under his gaze, her eyes found their way to the books at her side, rather than the pirate himself. Turning back to Twilight, Barbossa watched as she motioned her head back and forward to Fluttershy, gazing at him and clenching her teeth.

"Be ye wantin somethin'?"

He cocked a wicked smile, knowing full well what she wanted. He just wanted to hear her say it.

"I want you to apologize to Fluttershy for what you said."

"What was it I said exactly, Miss Sparkle? Me memory's been a bit fuzzy of late."

"About her name..."

Looking towards her friends, she walked up to Barbossa and whispered into his ear.

"...and the other thing."

While he enjoyed toying with Twilight, making further fun of Fluttershy would only result in his loss. Most likely their refusal to assist him. Or execution. Deciding the gracious option to be the best one, he turned to the yellow mare and tipped his head, his face mustering a genuine smile. As genuine as he could manage, anyway.

"My humblest apologies for anythin' that ye deemed hurtful...Fluttershy. The names here are simply more flowery than what I be used to."

While his apology lapsed into sarcasm, he deemed it the closest thing to one he could give. The others seemed to agree, annoyed with what he said but understanding the truth behind it. Or so he hoped anyway. He was desperate, but not so much as to bow down to some glorified fairy tale animals.

"W-what are names where you're from like?" Fluttershy said with an almost whispered voice, shuffling on her hooves and facing the pirate through her mane.

"Less flowery. Hector Barbossa, Elizabeth Swann, William Turner, Cutler Becket. Even Jack Sparrow. This world just seems so infantile."

Realising what he'd said and what it implied, he promptly backed up his statement, not wishing to undo his apology so quickly.

"Compared to me own world, of course."

"Why do you all have two names?"

The question was surprising, seeing as it came from Twilight, one of the only creatures there who actually had a surname. But judging by the notebook floating by her side, it was one of the many questiones she wanted to ask him.

"There be more than one man in the world named Hector. But there be significantly less named Hector Barbossa."

"Couldn't you just come up with new names?" He scoffed at her reply.

"Like what? Namin' children usin' random verbs and nouns? Aye, 'cause that sounds very noble."

"So there are no folk like you with names like ours?"

Now the farmer was getting involved.

"Men can take different names te impose on others. A man named Edward Teach is known to every sailor and pirate alike, but he be known as Blackbeard rather than Edward. But it is not a real name."

"How do you spell teech?"

Exhaling and closing his eyes, Barbossa blocked out the outside noise. All these questions. Opening his eyes and cracking his neck, he glared back at Twilight, mentally preparing himself for more.

"T-E-A-C-H."

"Can you have more than two names?"

"Aye..."

"Can you tell me one?"

Groaning at her constant queries, he rolled his eyes and paused to think.

"Mary Anne Rogers."

It likely wasn't real, but it didn't really matter at this point.

"Can anyone have a nick name?"

"Aye..."

"Do you have a nick name?"

The quick succession in which she asked made the queries more annoying than they actually were. He released a long, irritated sigh.

"No, but can ye please ask about somethin' else!" he whined.

If talking was all the pay that was needed to get him home, he would happily answer. Compared to gold or money, it left him with no loss. But he would throttle her little purple neck if she kept asking so many questions about absolutely nothing.

"What are you?" Her question caught the pirate of guard.

"I be beggin' yer pardon?"

"What are you. Spike's a dragon, and I'm a pony. What are you?"

Ponies? Looking around him, and remembering what he had seen of this world so far, he sighed as he felt the last of his masculinity wash away.

"Not horses then?"

Twilight recoiled at the words, as did a few of the others.

"Of course not. Do we look like horses to you?"

"Aye."

Not seeing what the problem was, Barbossa stared at the unicorn as she glared back at him, her eyelids half closed and dull.

"Just answer my question, Hector."

"I'm an Englishman, but we are collectively known te be human."

Nodding at him, she walked off to the back of the room, heading towards the pile of his effects. In her wake, the others just stared at him. Displeasure. Fear. He marvelled at how much faith they put in their purple friend, seeing as they started worrying the moment she left their presence. Not taking her time, Twilight soon came back, levitating his pistol in air.

"What's this?"

"It's called a flintlock pistol, and I'd be much obliged if ye didn't point it towards me face."

Glowering at her, Twilight nervously floated it away from him, pointing the barrel to his side. The others had since crowded around, looking somewhat curious with what he had to say. The item called a pistol was very well made, with elegant engraving stretching up from one end to the other. It appeared to be made of silver, but the captain knew differently.

"Oooh, how does it work? What does it do?!"

The pink one seemed too interested. She hopped from one hoof to the other, eyeing the weapon floating in the air.

"If I were untied, I could give ye a short demonstration."

He hadn't actually expected them to release him so easily, and sadly for him, they didn't.

"Y'all really think we're that stupid?"

They all glared at him with the same blunt expression.

"Fine. Ye load it with powder and a bullet, and pull the trigger."

Smiling sarcastically, he watched as the book floated in the air, writing itself while his gun swyaed in the air in front of him. Shock filled his system when the pistol suddenly went off. A loud bang was heard, followed by the heat of fire and a flash as the lone bullet left the weapon. The pistol abruptly stopped floating and hit the floor with a heavy thud. He turned to Twilight, more shocked at her stupidity than anything else.

"Ye bloody harlot! What in God's name are ye doin?!"

Trying in vain, he violently shook around in his chair, once again attempting to escape or move out of the way; anything to get away from the idiots playing around with his weapons.

"Are ye tryin' te kill me?!"

The animals just stood there, eyes wide open, staring in disbelief at the smoking hole in the books, before slowly turning their heads towards the iron pistol on the floor. Barbossa was surprised he hadn't been burned with a pistol fired that close to his face. The book on the shelf disagreed, with some of the pages clearly receiving the flame of short range fire.

Taking a deep, heated breath, he exhaled and calmed himself, closing his eyes. While he would have been more than happy dealing with the...ponies, being tied down at least allowed him time to compose himself. And the pistol was no longer loaded, so that was something to be thankful for.

"I-I'm so sorry. I didn't know that would happen."

Shaking, she looked back and forth between the gun and the small clouds of smoke emanating from the bookshelf.

"It. Be…fine. Just keep yer...magical…things off me weapons."

It was like giving weapons to children. Young children too. Looking at the others, Barbossa paused at the lack of fear in Rarity's face, not because he was surprised it wasn't there, but because fury was present instead. Her eyes were flared, and she stood forward, leaning in towards him.

"You wanted to do that to Rainbow?! You could have killed her!"

"If I were anythin' like Miss Sparkle, aye, I would have. But I were aimin' fer the tree at her side, not her good self."

"But you could still have hurt her!"

"Not my problem. If ye ask yer friends, ye'll find she were the one who initiated the attack. I only reacted accordingly."

Twilight cut in, forcing a hoof in front of her friends muzzle and another in front of the captains face.

"We can heal wounds, Rarity. What he did wasn't right, but according to Applejack and Pinkie, Rainbow did start it."

Barbossa smirked at the white unicorn, proud that he had won an argument, not only with his own words, but with that of his opponent's friend as well. Glaring, unimpressed with his over confidence, Twilight then turned to him instead.

"But you were the one who deserved it. If you hadn't bullied us, Rainbow wouldn't have got the wrong idea. And if you were even thinking of hurting my friends with that pistol thing, Mr. Barbossa, then we would be better off handing you over to the Royal Guard rather than actually helping you. Reacting to an attack is one thing, but I will not put your needs above the safety of my friends. I don't know how things work in your world, but while you are in ours, you will abide by our rules."

Standing firm with her speech, the captain strained to breathe as he felt the ropes abruptly tighten around him, the bristles of the cord digging in to his wrists and stomach.

"Do I make myself clear?"

The pirate sat tight in the chair, his mouth slightly ajar at the small pony taking action and actually talking down to him. While she had technically just threatened him, he still chose Twilight's company over that of the Royal Guard. He didn't even know they had a guard, or if it was even any good. But given his crimes so far, they'd have no trouble getting him executed. Looking back at his captors, and realising for once in his life he had no say or choice in the matter at hand, he gave the only answer he could give.

"Aye. Crystal."

**Author's Note:** Bit of a late update, I know, but life's gotten pretty crap recently. Not depressingly bad, but still pretty bad. More annoying the anything. Anyway, I don't how often chapter will come now, although I'd like to think I'm competent enough to get them out once a week at the very least. Two if the days drag on.


	7. One Day

**Chapter 7: One Day**

Rainbow Dash hated being in Hospital. Her personality didn't allow it. She enjoyed the freedom of flying, the thrill of speeding through the clouds, and the feel of the wind billowing against her fur. Not being laid up in an uneven, uncomfortable bed where she couldn't do anything.

Her previous stays had been less than enjoyable, but at least this time the problem wasn't her wings. That also meant here stay wouldn't that long either..

"A whole day's still a long time…"

Only her leg and nose were broken, and they were apparently pretty clean breaks too. She'd still be in a wheelchair for a few days, but at least she could go home this time. Her wings were fine, and the wheelchair was only recommended to help the fracture heal quicker. As much as it would have been preferred, even she couldn't fly everywhere without using her legs to land every now and then. Her nose was as good as healed already though; a unicorn doctor could easily heal small breaks, but things like legs, wings and skulls needed more time.

But her injuries weren't what was bothering her, it was the reason she got them.

"Stupid giant. Thinking he's all that. With his long legs and fancy sword…"

She'd kept her promise, and after the big guy was contained, she went straight to the hospital. But the thing was still there in Twilight's house. Doing Luna knows what. At the very least, she got to see them carry him away in that big box. Twilight didn't want to teleport something she didn't know anything about, so they packed the monster into a large wooden crate and pulled it through town in a cart. Well, Pinkie Pie did anyway. They thought if she did it, ponies wouldn't pay her much notice.

And they had promised to visit her once they were sure the creature was secure. That helped ease her thoughts. But even if this thing did cause any more problems, the plan was to call the royal guard to deal with him instead. It's the least he deserved after putting her in hospital.

And while she would have liked to see all of them, she knew they had to deal with Barbossa, so only a few would actually visit her. It didn't matter though; as long as they were okay in the end, that was all that mattered. Getting less injured in the process would have been preferable, but it could have turned out worse.

Sitting back in her bed, she gazed at the room around her. Everything was made from wood, and the room was painted dark, earthly green. The floors were a dark blue, but she knew that anyway; the floors were the same throughout the whole building. She never quite knew why every room was painted a different colour, but guessed it was simply to add variety..

There were also a few woven chairs sat in the corner of the room, each having a small white cushion on top to add some comfort. They weren't really that comfy, but if you were visiting someone for a short while, they were better than nothing. There was also a small bedside cabinet to her left, as well as a glass and bottle of water on top. She wouldn't need to use the cabinet this time though, seeing as she was only there for the night.

Slowly becoming bored with her stay, she perked up at the sudden knocking at the door.

"Rainbow, y'all in there?"

Realising her friends had finally come to see her, she let a smile giggle escape her lips as she hurriedly combed her mane over. She knew they wouldn't mind her having a messy mane, but she still thought it was nice to look cool for her friends.

"Yeah, it's open."

Watching the door open, Rainbow smiled as Applejack cantered through the large doorway, followed closely by Rarity and Pinkie Pie, the latter of which waved and beamed at the cyan mare the moment she came into view.

"Hiya Dashy!" she said, pulling her injured friend into a hug.

It wasn't surprising, given that it was Pinkie, but it was a nice gesture all the same. It was good to see her friends were okay too; Applejack and Pinkie were jut smiling.

"Rainbow dear! How's your leg doing?"

Rarity, on the other hand, seemed more distressed than happy. Her brow was furrowed, and she didn't hold a smile like the other two. She almost looked scared.

"Nah, it's fine. I'm only here for the night anyway."

Rainbow didn't consider herself the smartest pony, but she knew what was worrying her friend. It would be hard not to know, but she still wanted to enjoy her friends company for a little while longer.

"We brought some grapes." Pinkie said jovially, holding out a small paper bag, "they're seedless too."

"I'm only here for one night, Pinkie."

"But you always bring grapes when someone goes to hospital, silly."

Not willing to dispute her pink friends logic, Rainbow simply accepted it as a Pinkie Pie fact and tossed a few of the small, green pieces of fruit into her mouth. Grapes weren't her favourite food, but she wasn't one to turn down free food. But as much as she wanted to continue enjoying her friends company, the few of her friends that weren't there eventually wandered into her mind.

"So…" she said, tapping her good hoof on the bedsheets, "how are the others?"

"Everypony's fine. Twilight an' Fluttershy are stayin' with Hector. We got him all hog tied up in a magic chair, so he ain't goin' nowhere."

"Is that even safe? I mean, doesn't he eat ponies and stuff?"

Rarity huffed in response, clicking her teeth and rolling her eyes. Applejack did the same, responding to Rarity rather than the comment.

"That's what I said, but Twilight insisted she had the situation covered. I mean, sure, we have him tied up now, but what do we do once he gets out? He didn't seem too happy to see us, and we can't keep him in the library forever."

"Rarity, Twilight's the smart one. I doubt she'd go releasin' him while we weren't there. Besides, he needs our help to get back home."

The farmer shuffled on her hooves, looking back towards Rainbow.

"And I don't like 'im or nothin' but he didn't seem all that bad. He said he were sorry for makin' fun o' Fluttershy, and he gave me the money for the apples he took."

Pinkie was quick to agree, nodding her head at her orange friend.

"Yeah, he doesn't seem like a total meanie pants. I mean, he is definitely a meanie pants, but not a total one."

"Why does he need our help to get home? Surely if he can get here, he can get back just fine." Rainbow added, not quite following their line of conversation.

The three visitors stared at Rainbow, suddenly remembering that she wasn't there when they had questioned the pirate. Ceasing the opportunity, Pinkie jumped up onto the bed, standing over Rainbow with a beaming smile on her face.

"He's from a totally different world, with pirates and epic adventures on the high seas and swords and swashbuckling and stuff! Isn't that cool?!"

Watching as Rainbow's face contorted and her eyebrows rose, Pinkie ignored it and continued to talk.

"And he was on his way to the land of the dead with his cool pirate crew when he fell into Everfree and now he's lost and can't get home."

Vacantly staring at her pink friend, Rainbow then chose to look at the ponies behind her. Watching as the two nodded with differing degrees of enthusiasm, Rainbow let the information she'd just heard sink into her mind, seeing as it was apparently true.

"That does sound…kinda cool, I guess."

Pirates are pretty awesome, after all. Well, real pirates were, anyway.

"But that doesn't change what he did, Rainbow Dash. It put you in Hospital. And we're lucky Twilight isn't sat in the bed next to you," argued Rarity.

Applejack begged to differ, rolling her head to one side and once again clicking her teeth with her tongue.

"But he said he were sorry. I don't like him any more than you do, but everyone deserves a second chance."

Rainbow and Pinkie inwardly giggled at the argument going on around them. The topic at hand was hardly something to be laughed at, but given how often the two in question argued, it still proved to be somewhat funny. Wanting to stay out of the way, Pinkie and Rainbow sat back, waiting for the feud to eventually subside.

"Well, if you want to give a monster than goes around beating up ponies another chance, then be my guest."

"But it isn't like he didn't have a reason. Dash started it"

"But how were we meant to know it wasn't about to eat you? He had his front legs in the air, and the two of you looked scared half to death!"

"And how was Hector meant to know that you and Rainbow thought that? And we weren't scared or nothin'. We was just nervous with the big creature talkin' to us and stuff."

The two equines were face to face now, practically pushing their muzzles towards each other, ears flared and eyes wider than they needed to be.

"But he attacked Sweetie Belle and the others. How can you be so…so courteous to something that attacked your sister?

"if he did go an' hurt Applebloom, I'll knock him three way ta next Sunday. But Applebloom never said she were attacked, and she weren't hurt nothin' neither. I were gonna ask him…but then that boomy stick went of an' he got all mad at Twilight…"

"And even if he didn't attack the girls, he was going to blow Dash's wings off with that thing."

Rainbow's eyes widened.

"Excuse me?! He was going to do what with my wings."

"Oh, darling, it was terrible. He has this thing called a pistol, and it shoots these fiery steel balls, and he was going to blow your wings to pieces. It shot a smoking hole clean through one of Twilights books too."

Applejack frowned. She knew Rarity had a point, a few of them actually. But if he was really bad, he wouldn't have given her the money for the apples, and he wouldn't have said sorry to Fluttershy. The last time she didn't think over the situation, she ended up criticizing Zecora for it, and she turned out to be nice in the end. She couldn't say she felt the same way about Hector, but what if a similar situation happened again? What if they were wrong?

"The next time I see 'im, I'll be askin' Hector about eatin' ponies and all that other stuff. If you were right, and he is a monster, I'll take back what ah said and treat him the way he deserves. I just don't wanna do the same thing we did to Zecora. And I know it ain't the same, but I'd rather be dislikin' him for the right reasons than the wrong ones."

Patiently sitting on one of the pillowed chairs, Rarity thought over what her friend had said, leaning her head into one of her fore hooves. Despite what had happened, and how it had hurt some of her friends, she knew there was some truth in what Applejack said. She didn't like Hector, and she was sure he didn't like them, but when she thought about it, she didn't know the whole truth. She didn't want to admit it, but maybe the creature deserved to be heard out.

"Fine. But that is all that...Hector will get from me. One chance. Nothing more. After that, I'm through with him." she huffed, crossing her arms and turning her head to the side.

Sitting in silence for a few moments, Rainbow and Pinkie let out a sigh of relief as their two friends began speaking again, this time on friendly terms. Still hearing the two bicker, however, Pinkie and Rainbow decided to start their own conversion. Like the many other times they needed something to talk about, Pinkie started them off.

"I think we should help him. Then we can say we were friends with a real live pirate! Maybe he could teach us to talk piratey and swashbuckle. I've always wanted to swashbuckle."

"Pinkie, he's not a pony. We can't just go trusting him off the bat like that. Look what he did to me and Twilight."

"Spikes not a pony, and he's friendly. Hector isn't nice, but maybe he just doesn't know how to act like a pony."

"What are you talking about? He isn't a pony, how is he meant to start acting like one?"

"Exactly! His world might be really, really, really different from ours. The ponies might not be very nice where he comes from."

Cocking her head at her pink friend, Rainbow swirled what Pinkie had just said around in her mind. Maybe she did have some sort of point, in a Pinkie Pie kind of way.

"So...you think he's mean to us because ponies in his world were mean to him? Or something like that?"

"Yeah. You know it makes perfect sense. I mean, why else would he try and hurt Twilight."

"What about me? He hurt me too!" Rainbow said, motioning towards her broken leg for emphasis.

"Yes, but you started it Dashy. He shouldn't have hit you back, but you shouldn't have hit him in the first place."

Poking her friend on the forehead with her hoof, Pinkie them smiled and pulled Rainbow into a tight hug.

"But I'm still glad you're oki doki."

"Thanks Pinkie."

Dash returned the hug as best she could, shifting and moving around under her friends weight. Her leg was broken after all, so a full on hug was slightly awkward to do, but Pinkie didn't seem to mind.

"What else can this thing do then? Does he have his own pirate ship with cannons and stuff?"

Maybe the pirate wasn't as bad as she thought he was. Once she was free of the hospital, it wouldn't be getting let out of her sight, but at least it was a cool monster. Releasing Rainbow from the hug, Pinkie shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't know. He said he was sailing with his crew to someone's locker, so he must have had one, right?"

"So, is he like Rötenbeard? Or Captain Mortelmane and TrésorTail the Terrible?"

"He didn't say much about himself, but there's a really mean pirate called Blackbeard where he comes from, so I guess that kinda counts. But everyone else had weird names in his world. If you wanted a normal one, you had to make it up yourself."

"Weird how? Like boring weird, or different weird?"

"Well, he said Blackbeard was really called Edward, and he's only called Blackbeard to scare everyone. He talked about someone called Cutlass though, so maybe they haven't all got boring names."

"Well, I don't care what he's called or how boring his name is. He isn't getting off the hook for busting my nose and leg.""

It wasn't fair. She had been the one to help her friends, yet she was the one not learning anything about the monster. Not anything cool anyway.

"Maybe he'll say he's sorry once you get out."

"Yeah, he'd better. Putting me in hospital and hurting Twilight. He'll be lucky if I do anything for him."

"Aww, don't be like that Dashy. He's a pirate. And he said the sooner we help him, the sooner he gets to go home."

Rainbow gave her friend a sceptical glare, half closing her eyes.

"So he basically told you we should help him, or we're stuck with him?" she said curiously, .

"Yup. And if he can't get home, he can't help Jack."

So he was blackmailing him to help him? That's what it sounded like. Help me, or I'll stay here and annoy you until you do, or that's how Dash imagined it anyway. But seeing as Pinkie had completely missed the point she was trying to make, Rainbow decided to move the conversation along.

"Who's Jack?"

"The pirate he was trying to save from the land of the dead. They must be great friends if Hector went all the way there to see him again. That proves he's a nice human."

Readying to open her mouth and ask what she meant, Pinkie somehow knew what the question would and answered anyway.

"Oh yeah, his things are called humans. Or humanies. Or humani. I don't know what the plural is. It rolls of the your tongue though, don't you think?"

"It doesn't matter. I still don't like him."

Scrunching up her nose, and attempting to cross her forelegs, she looked at Rarity. Her and Applejack were just listening to Pinkie talk anyway.

"I'm surprised Fluttershy didn't want to come with you. You know, seeing as there's a monster in Twilight's house."

"She offered to stay. Apparently, she wants to hear more about him." she said, before suddenly blinking, "oh, and she says hi. So does Twilight."

"Y'all need to give her more credit where it's due, Rainbow. I thought she'd be scared of Hector too, especially after he ransacked her house. Maybe she's just curious about 'im?"

"Yeah. I mean, he technically is an animal."

Fluttershy was a lot smarter than she led on, so maybe she just wanted to learn more about the new animal they'd discovered. She wouldn't put it past her. Or maybe she wanted to know about other stuff; she could be as curious as Twilight hen she found something she liked.

"As nice as it is that Fluttershy isn't scared of Hector, we need to get going. We only came to make sure you were okay. We love you dear, but it's just Twilight, Spike and Fluttershy in the library with Hector, and we'd rather not take any chances."

Rainbow sighed, frowning as the words left Rarity's lips. She would have preferred them to stay, but knew that if the situation was reversed, she would want to check on the others too. She was fine in the hospital, but they didn't know how they were back at the library. Keeping her friends safe was more important.

"That's fine guys, really. I'll be out tomorrow anyway."

Applejack nodded.

"And Fluttershy said she and Twilight would see ya tomorrow too. It's getting late, and they're probably talkin' with Hector anyways."

Giving Rainbow a hug, she moved towards the door, followed closely by Rarity.

"Goodnight sugercube."

"Yes, goodnight Rainbow."

"See ya tomorrow. Enjoy the grapes Dashy!"

Watching Pinkie bounce through the door behind the others, Rainbow sat back against her soft, feathery pillow. It was getting late, and the issue with Hector had cost her many a nap she'd had planned for the day. He'd cost her a lot of things she'd had planned for the day, like not being in hospital. But being there meant she had free time, and that meant she could sleep all she wanted.

Reaching over to her bedside table, she rummaged through the bag of grapes, only to find a dingy stalk with two pieces of fruit left. Looking over at the bag, there was a small note placed to the side. The paper was hot pink, and a small smiley face in a love heart sat below the text.

"It's customary to eat most of the grapes before you leave too."  
-Pinkie Pie

Rolling her eyes, she shoved the last two grapes in her mouth and let her head fall onto her soft pillow. The sooner she went to sleep, the sooner it would be tomorrow, and the sooner it was tomorrow, the sooner she could leave. Lying down face first, she closed her eyes and felt the comfort of finally being able to get some rest. Her leg hurt, and getting comfortable was a little difficult, but she'd had worse nights sleep. Shuffling around under the covers, and shifting over and under the sheets multiple times, she finally found a position comfortable enough.

With nothing but the sounds of crickets outside and staff working their shifts down the hall, she closed her eyes to block out the remaining light of the day. The sun was setting, and the reds and yellows flooding in through the window were all that were keeping her from sleep, but being too lazy to close the curtains, she made do with what she had. Releasing a final yawn, she buried her head deep within the pillow below her, and soon after found herself dreaming of swashbuckling adventures on the high seas.

**Author's Note: I realise this is kind of a filler chapter, but I wanted a chapter sort of focusing on the mane six's different reaction to their honourable guest. Well, four of them anyway. Sorry it's so short too.**

**And yes, MomentaryInsanity, I am naming chapters after soundtrack titles. Except the first one, for certain reasons. It's nice someone noticed.  
**


	8. I've Got My Eye On You

**Chapter 8: I've Got My Eye On You**

"Can ye untie me now?"

Captain Barbossa sat patiently in his chair. He'd answered all of the unicorn's questions, and most of them more truthfully than he wanted to. The least she could do was free him from the stupid, bloody chair. It had been hours, and not only had the others left to visit his assailant in hospital, but Twilight's questioning was getting beyond tolerable.

"I don't think so, Hector."

Hurriedly writing and scratching into her second notebook, Twilight ignored his pleading. Not that he blamed her; he'd asked at least two dozen times in the last ten minutes. What annoyed him was that she wasn't losing her patience. The day was nearing it's end, and the sun was setting beyond the windows around him. The oranges and reds bled through the glass, making him all the more wistful of his predicament. This world was acceptable, but his own world was where he belonged.

Tiredly looking at his guard and interrogator, he realised in all the effort to answer Twilight and gain her trust, he'd never thought to ask something himself. Feeling he was long overdue a question of his own, he cleared his throat to gain her attention.

"How de ye do that?"

"Do what?" Twilight asked as she stared at him, blankly looking into his eyes.

"That," he said motioning towards the notebook, "Float things. Like ye did with me pistol and that book."

"It's magic. All unicorns can do it."

The way she spoke implied he was stupid, as if she were telling him something that he was expected to know. He rolled his eyes in response before trying again.

"Aye, I can see that. But how do ye do it?"

"We just can. We focus our energy into a spell, and we cast it," Twilight replied before she widened her eyes, "Oh, do you not have magical unicorns in your world?"

"We don't have any unicorns, nor do we have any flyin' horses."

"I keep telling you, we're ponies, not horses, and they're called pegasi."

Realisation hit the pirate. Pegasus. That's what it was called. It had been years since he'd read anything on Greek mythology.

"So I was the first unicorn you ever saw?"

"I've seen pictures. The same with yer friend there," he said, nudging his head towards Fluttershy.

"You said you didn't have unicorns."

"There be a great, many manner o' creatures in my world, but unicorns and pegasuses are a thing of legend. A myth lost te the sands of time. Then again, so are many of the other creatures I've seen, so maybe ye do exist somewhere."

"It's pegasi. Do you have earth ponies?"

He groaned, realising he'd inadvertently caused her to start a whole new line of questioning. And he didn't get why they had to be earth ponies. Surely pony worked just fine if the other two already had names for their species.

"Aye, we do. But they don't talk."

Before Twilight could open her mouth again, he made sure to shush her with a icy glare, moving his head as far forward as he could manage.

"And if ye'll be so kind as to not ask any more questions, ye can be sure I'll more willin' te talk when you undoubtedly start asking me more tomorrow. Do I make meself clear?"

He had a nerve to talk back at her, but Twilight realised he did indeed have a point. She'd got more information on him and his world than she would have gotten in a lifetime on her own, and as it stood, she had yet to keep up her end of the bargain.

"I..is it okay if I ask one question?"

Looking over at Fluttershy, Barbossa had all but forgotten she was even there. The most she'd done was look at Twilight's book as she wrote down what he said. Letting out a frustrated breath, he nodded and answered.

"Fine. Ye can ask _one_."

The small dragon walked into view, seemingly wanting the same treatment. The pirate grated his teeth and rolled his eyes. Maybe he should have just kept quiet?

"Aye, you too."

Clearing her throat and walking up to him, Fluttershy stopped at his feet, sitting on her haunches.

"Do you like animals?"

Giving the yellow pegasus a strange look, he wondered about the childlike innocence of the question before eventually coming to a suitably childlike answer.

"I have a pet, if that's what yer gettin' at."

Readying to focus on the dragon, Fluttershy spoke up again, a small smile seeping onto her features.

"What kind of animal is it? Does it have a name? Is he fluffy?"

"He be a monkey named Jack," he grumbled at her, wanting to avoid making the weak one cry again.

But he thought it best to leave the immortal part out of the equation, lest Twilight pick up interest on the subject.

"Thank you for answering my question."

He threw the yellow mare another curious look. He was at least glad Fluttershy was less inclined to follow her curiosity than Twilight was, but she seemed...overly friendly with him, considering he had brought her to a snivelling wreck the day before. Deciding to ignore the issue, Barbossa then turned to the dragon at his feet.

"Do you have dragons where you come from? Oh no, wait, what do you have where you come from?"

"That be two questions. One more than I offered, and two more than I be wantin' te answer."

"Fluttershy got three," the small dragon whined, pointing like a bratty child towards the pony in question.

"If dragons be any more than a legend, I've yet to see one. And there be many creatures; krakens, the undead; too many to be mentionin' here," he said, putting special emphasis on the latter part, if only just to suggest he couldn't really be bothered talking about them.

"Cool! Twilight, you hear that? They have zombies where he's from."

"Yes Spike, I heard."

She couldn't help but think his world sounded more and more terrible the more she heard about it; stormy seas, un-dead creatures roaming the land, pirates at every corner waiting to attack and harm. But he called it home, and despite it's many short comings, he wanted to get back.

"And I promise, starting tomorrow, I'll start looking for a way to get you home."

Floating her notebook elegantly onto a desk at the other end of the room, Twilight levitated some paper towards herself and handed it to the small dragon.

"Spike, can you take a letter?"

"Sure thing…"

Fetching a quill, he sat on the floor and wrote as his friend spoke.

"Dear Princess Celestia,

I have some very exciting news; we have a visitor from another world staying in the library. His name his Captain Hector Barbossa, and he comes to our world from his own, lost, stranded and unable to get home. I know this is most difficult to believe, and it all sounds like a little foal's story, but every word I've said thus far is true. I hope to hear your response soon, as well any information or assistance you have to offer that may help our guest.

Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle."

Finishing his job of writing the letter, the dragon then threw it in the air, burning it with a bright green flame, and before his eyes, the captain saw the scroll burn to a cinder and vanish as the fire flowed through the air and out the window.

"What was that?!"

Something wasn't right.

"We sent a letter to the Princess asking for help. Hopefully we'll get a repl-"

"Ye said ye wouldn't hand me to the royal guard!" the captain's voice suddenly echoed through the room, alarm evident in his voice.

"We're not handing you over to the guard. You heard what I said, we just told her about you," she calmly replied in a soft, soothing voice.

"They amount te the same bloody thing! She'll have me hanged!" he fiercely yelled, once again shaking around in his chair, struggling against the enchanted rope.

Fluttershy and Spike looked at each other, not quite sure what was scaring him, nor how to actually calm him down. Twilight just shook her head at the other two, equally unsure of what he was talking about.

"Hung from what?" Spike asked, seeing as no one else wanted to.

Barbossa looked back at them with the same confused look they'd had moments before. Breathing slowly and calmly, he searched his mind, trying to work out what was going on.

"Hung from the neck until death…"

Still feeling somewhat confused, Barbossa sat as he saw the others' expressions change from confusion to fear. The kind of fear he'd seen in the crew when the ship went down. But it wasn't a fear for their own well-being. It was something else entirely.

"U-u-until death? They let your neck…snap?" Fluttershy said, shaking.

"Why would the princess do that to you?!" Twilight shouted back at the pirate, angry he thought Celestia would do such a thing.

But after a few seconds, realisation hit her and she looked up at him.

"Is…is that what your world does…to pirates?"

She knew pirates weren't necessarily to be trusted, but that seemed…brutal.

"I be takin' it yours doesn't?"

While this was something Captain Barbossa could celebrate, curiosity still urged him to wonder and ask about the issue. What was the guard for if not for criminals? What did happen to the ne'er do wells when they were caught?

"Of course not! That's horrible. We wouldn't kill anypony by…by breaking their necks!"

"What does yer world do then? Let 'em roam free? If so, that sounds plenty appealin' compared te me own situation."

"No, of course not. We don't have pirates anymore…"

Barbossa had thought as much, but the topic still interested him. What need would a world have for a guard force if there was no one to guard against?

"Aye, but what of the other criminals. What's their fate?"

"They don't get one. We don't have executions; ours is an age of peace and prosperity, they're not needed."

"But they used to be."

Twilight froze, focusing her eyes on the floor instead of her addresser.

"Am I right, Miss Sparkle?"

As much as he hated to admit it, he wouldn't have them thinking his world was purely a hell hole full of pillagers and plunderers while theirs was an Equestrian heaven of peace and pure joy. Besides, learning how the animals dealt with punishment could somehow prove useful.

"I don't know why you want to go back to your world. It sounds awful," she said, hoping to drop the subject.

Twilight didn't look at directly him, but Barbossa could tell she was uncomfortable. Her voice was wavering and what was said came out as raspy and dry. The other two were still silent, shuffling their feet and hooves, looking towards their purple friend.

"It is, but that'll be changin' soon enough."

Curious about what he'd said, Twilight was about to ask when Spike coughed up a scroll. Barbossa couldn't get over how strange and useful an ability it was, but doubted now was the time to ask about it. He doubted it was a skill he wanted to learn either.

Carefully levitating the message, Twilight spent a few seconds reading and rereading it, following each word with her eyes. She eventually turned to Barbossa, moving the letter in front of his face.

_"To my faithful student, Twilight Sparkle, _

_As marvellous as this state of affairs is, I cannot stress enough that you should be careful; we know nothing about your guest, but if anypony can handle a situation such as this, I am sure it is you and your friends.  
However, I would like to see this Captain Hector Barbossa for myself, to see if he or she truly is from beyond our own world. Duty calls tonight, but I will arrive at noon tomorrow to meet your guest. I would come sooner, but given the casual nature of your last letter, I assume you have the situation under control for now.  
Please be careful, but do not forget what you have learned and, that while he is unfamiliar, this creature is still a guest in your home._

_Princess Celestia"_

Finishing the scroll, Barbossa looked over at Twilight, wondering if she would actually follow her mentor's recommendation. He was unsettled the ruler didn't know his gender, but that was the least of his problems.

"Well, ye heard yer princess, Miss Sparkle. I'm a guest."

Twilight struggled with the idea; she respected her mentor, and the princess was usually right, but Celestia didn't know what he had done. If she had known Hector had attacked her, there was no way she would ask him to be treated so politely. Surely if Celestia knew the situation, she wouldn't object to keeping him tied up, but then again, she couldn't expect him to stay there all night.

"Hiya Twilight!"

Her thought process was broken as Pinkie eagerly bounced through the front door of the library, while Applejack and Rarity cantered in slowly behind her.

"Hiya Mr Pirate!"

Barbossa sarcastically smiled back at the pink mare as she strolled in, showing his teeth and tilting his head forward in a faux bow.

"Hey, Twi. How goes guard duty?" Applejack said as she narrowed her eyes, scrutinizing the pirate with a frown on her face.

Barbossa just snarled back at her, once again showing his teeth.

Unsure of how to approach the subject, Twilight eagerly levitated the scroll towards her friends. The three new comers and Fluttershy looked over the letter, varying degrees of displeasure written across their faces. Rarity narrowed her eyes, looking up towards Barbossa and then to Twilight.

"So you're just going to let him go?!"

"I don't know. I mean, he hasn't done anything since you girls left, and he answered the questions we asked him…"

Rarity furrowed her brow again. She'd promised Applejack she'd give him a chance, but she didn't think they'd be letting him go this soon. Looking over to Applejack, she motioned her head towards the pirate, but after multiple times of her not getting the hint, she whispered instead.

"Ask him."

"Hmm? Oh. Oh, right. Sure" Applejack whispered back before trotting up to Barbossa, her head held down towards the floor.

"Um…Mr Hector?"

She glanced back a Rarity, who nodded her head and motioned her hoof forward in reply. Looking back up, the human just stared at her with a curious gaze, one eyebrow raised higher than the other.

"…Aye?"

"Do..do y'all eat ponies?"

She really didn't want to ask the question. Nopony did, mainly because they were scared of the answer he would give. Fluttershy and Twilight stood there motionless, the latter holding her breath. She didn't know the answer he'd give, but she'd wished she'd asked him while the other weren't here. His pointed teeth meant he ate meat; she just didn't really want to know what kind.

But while they were worried about what he would say, Barbossa was deciding the best way to actually respond. He didn't want to make any more mistakes, and coming across as something that would happily eat them wasn't what he deemed as the correct course of action. Of course, he wasn't naïve about the situation; they obviously knew, to some extent, that he ate meat.

"No. I've ate a many manner o' creatures, but never a pony."

That was technically true; while he hadn't ate pony meat in particular, he had ate horse. But even if he had ate pony, he couldn't imagine wanting it if it was anything like horse meat. It was somewhat tough, and not something he would choose over what was more commonly consumed.

"B-but y'all could if...if it w-were what ya wanted?"

"Aye, but I can't imagine I'll want te do that while I'm here. Wouldn't be very cost effective, eatin' the creatures helpin' me return home."

As good as he thought his joke was, the rest apparently didn't agree. The multicoloured ponies back away from his presence. Spike did the same, scurrying from his post near the pirate to Twilight's side.

"Fer the love of God. Look, I'm not goin' te eat ye. And even if I did eat horses and ponies, ye really think I'd go eatin' ye before anythin' else I could find?"

Twilight let her ears perk up. His argument was somewhat...understandable. They'd met other meat eating animals, and even though they could eat ponies, they didn't actually do it. Griffins were well known for being omnivores, yet it was all but unheard of for one to actually eat a pony. And even then, there were some other animal that they chose not to eat anyway.

"So...if we released you...you wouldn't try and eat us?" Twilight asked, sheepishly looking down from where she stood.

"Ye have me word."

He began moving around in the chair, shifting against the ropes. His wrists were pained, and his back was aching under the long hours tied to his prison; getting out was a blessing in any form.

"You have to Pinkie Pie promise." Twilight said.

"What now?" Barbossa asked, looking towards the pink pony in question.

"Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye," Pinkie Pie responded as she hopped up from her position on the floor, animatedly explaining her promise as she danced and skipped around in front of the pirate.

Finishing with her explanation, Barbossa just stared at her, not quite sure if she was being serious or not.

"Aye, I shan't be sayin' that."

"Why not?" Pinkie whined, seemingly more upset at him not saying her promise than the actual act of not promising.

"Because it sounds stupid."

"You will say it, or you'll be tied to this chair until the princess arrives tomorrow."

Twilight stood her ground, stamping her hoof with a heavy thud onto the wooden floor. Barbossa just snarled back at her.

"Fine…"

Staring at the rest of the assorted ponies, they looked back at him with the same look Twilight had. The immature saying must be accepted here. Sadly.

"Cross me 'eart and 'ope te die, stick a...a cupcake in me eye…"

He felt ridiculous.

Pinkie smiled at him, as did Twilight. The others didn't, but Spike seemed to get a mild laugh out of hearing him say something so stupid.

Twilight simply nodded, but instead of freeing him, she walked over to the pile of his possessions. From the assortment of objects, she levitated two pouches, as well as his sword and pistol into the air. She then marched over to Spike, the troupe of piratey objects effortlessly dancing around in the air behind her.

"Go and get the book Spike."

Understanding the order, the small dragon bounded up the small ladder at the pirate's side, and after seconds of rummaging came back down, holding an average sized, sky blue book. It had patterns going around the spine, as well as a purple jewel on the front.

Spike opened it up and placed it on the floor at the unicorn's hooves. The others, much like the pirate, had attempted to get a better look at what was going on. Somewhat worried at what was about to happen, Barbossa spoke up.

"What are ye doin?..."

"This is a spell I designed. With this book, and properly enchanted items, I can store things within the pages. It keeps the items safe, and, more importantly, out of your way."

"So…you turn them into pictures?" Fluttershy asked, somewhat confused.

"More or less, but the objects still stay the same. If it were possible to enter the book yourself, you could use the sword and…still load and shoot the pistol."

Barbossa sat there, somewhat impressed, with a look of intrigue on his face.

"And can ye enter the book?"

"No. Or at least, if you can, I don't know how to do it."

As a silence came over the room, everyone marvelled at the book as it began to glow a deep, dark purple. It began to float in the air, and as the pirate's artefacts danced around it, the pages from the book flew out in to the library. Dozens of them flew around the room, ducking and diving over and around the ponies and the pirate as the all sat there.

After watching the papers soar and glide throughout the library, the sheets began encircling the floating items in a whirlwind of white and purple. As the maelstrom of papers tightened and reduced in size, they cleared to show the items had gone, and soon after all the papers had become static pages once again the book fell lifelessly to the floor.

Sitting on her haunches, and trying catch her breath, Twilight floated the tome back into the air and opened it to the only filled pages within the book. Inside were four images; a sword, a pistol and two small pouches, all etched with ink into the book. After rather proudly showing her friends, Twilight presented the book to Hector.

"And they'll stay in there until you are ready to go home. No one can touch them, and you'll get them in the same condition in which you left them."

"How de ye know they still work?"

Twilight had expected him to be angry, but chose not to tempt fate by asking. Using a quill, she drew three simple lines. Casting yet another spell on the book, the sword began to move, and in a quick, effortless set of motions, it cut through each of the lines, leaving six smaller ones in their place.

"Would have been more impressive te see ye fire the pistol," he said, looking down at her whilst smiling.

Frowning at him, the pirate suddenly felt the ropes around his wrists loosen, and the chair budge beneath his weight. Pushing his wrists apart, he smiled as the rope effortlessly fell from around him and onto the floor. Shakily standing up, the chair toppled to the floor behind him, and after finally getting to his feet, he cracked his neck and shoulders. The ponies cringed, the crunch and crack of his bones echoing around the room as he twisted his body.

Finishing his stretching, he saw that all except Twilight had frozen in place. Not that he had to wonder why; he stood a good few feet above the ponies, and even more so over the tiny dragon. Quickly grabbing the book floating in the air, causing Twilight to flinch in the process, he moved his fingers over his formerly real items. They really were pictures. Not even the indents of a pen could be felt on the page.

"We'll make a bed of sorts for you in the basement. You can have the rest of your things back, as well as the apples you bought from Applejack. If you as much as think about causing trouble, I'll put you straight back in the chair."

"Are ye sure ye could manage that, Miss Sparkle?" he sarcastically laughed as he walked towards his things.

"I've levitated an ursa minor. You're like a mouse in comparison."

Catching the warning in her voice rather than the reference, he decided to stop begging for trouble, and instead chose to put on his jacket and return his hat to its rightful place.

"Why are you putting your jacket and hat back on?"

"Te replace me effects back into their rightful pockets, seein' as I don't have no magic te help me." he said, giving her a quick cynical smile before turning back around.

Watching him pick up his things, replacing each item back into the pocket she assumed it came from, Twilight walked back to her friends, who'd decided to move to anywhere the pirate wasn't.

"Spike, could you please get the old mattress in the basement and put it on the floor. There should be some sheets down there as well."

Setting off to the basement, Spike gave Twilight a mocking salute and started whistling, making his way towards the area under his home.

"Y'all are givin' 'im his own bed?"

"It's an old mattress; the springs are loose and it's a bit dusty. I never use it, so I don't see why he can't."

Applejack looked towards the pirate before whispering, "What about…y'know…food…"

"He still has some of the apples he got from the farm. I think he'll be fine for tonight. We can sort out the food problem when it comes up tomorrow."

"Do you want us to stay the night, Twilight?" Rarity asked, evidently more worried than Applejack.

"If you feel you have to, but I'm sure me and Spike will be fine. Hector knows where he stands."

"Aye, and it be a good few feet taller then you, Miss Sparkle!"

Twilight narrowed her eyes, turning around as she heard Pinkie giggling to herself.

"What? I thought it was pretty funny."

Shaking her head at the party pony, Twilight ignored her and continued talking.

"Anyway, you can come back tomorrow. I kind of want you all there when the princess arrives. Do you think Rainbow will come?"

While Twilight spoke eagerly, Rarity took her time before responding.

"I'm not sure. I doubt she'd say no to you Twilight, but I can't promise she'll be happy about seeing Hector again."

"Well, tell her I'd be grateful if she did come."

The others didn't want to leave Twilight and Spike on their own, but if she said she'd be fine, then in the end they had to trust her. Saying their goodbyes, Rarity walked up to Hector, lightly kicking his heel to get his attention. Barbossa simply looked down at her, fiddling with a broken pocket watch before hiding it within his coat.

"You lay one…thing on Twilight or Spike, and we'll make sure you regret it."

Her ears were on edge, and he could see the anger in her eyes. But while she was certainly putting on the pressure, her back-up was decidedly less intimidating; Applejack and Fluttershy attempted a less than fierce glare, while Pinkie merely stuck out her tongue and scrunched up her eyes.

"Of course; it be in me best interests not to. But get under me skin once too often, and ye may see me not take the same liberty wi' ye, Miss Rarity."

Glowering back at him, she turned to her friends before huffing and walking out of the door. Barbossa knew he was treading on thin ice, but he couldn't resist attempting a jab at them every now and then, especially the white one. In the end, he saw no problem with some mild banter; if he could do it with his enemies, he could do it with the horses. He just had to be careful.

Finished with restoring his pockets to their former state, he turned around to face his new purple landlord. The dragon soon returned from his venture downstairs, and after smiling at him, Twilight presented Spike with...a dark red jewels.

Noticing the pirate, her smiled wavered, eventually being replaced by a frown. However, Barbossa was more fascinated with the baby dragon that had, in a small manner of bites, chewed his way through and swallowed the jewel he had been given.

"He eats jewels?"

"Gemstones. And what else is he going to eat?"

The captain assumed it would be small animals, but apparently his knowledge of dragons was lacking. Besides, if their friend ate meat, he doubted they would have made such a big deal about him doing the same.

"Anyway, your bed's down here."

Guiding him towards the door Spike had ventured through, Twilight opened it and made her way down the stairs.

"Spike cleared aside most of my things, but I expect you not to touch anything."

The pirate took wind of the fact that it was more a command than a suggestion. But once he was down there, he wasn't completely sure he wanted to touch anything in the first place.

Among the many small relics and tree roots strewn about the floor and walls, there were also…things. They were made of sleek, shining metal, and they were making loud, rattling noises. One had lighting rods cascading from the top, creating their own lighting sparks rather than absorbing ones from the sky. It was so bright.

There were more things down there too; some held liquids, while others vanished into the walls around him, connecting to the other boxes with coloured strings and rope. Moving away out of pure instinct, the captain pushed his back up against the wall of the stairwell.

They were so loud.

"What's wrong?"

He didn't respond, instead choosing to reach for his sword that wasn't actually there any more. Trying to pinpoint what he was looking at, she blinked at her machines, wondering what one had him so scared. Moving down the steps, it was only when she reached the bottom she noted the captain had slowed to a stop.

"What are they?" He asked, pointing at the metal casing, beakers, pipes and wires, staring at them from over his nose and cracking the bones of his knuckles.

"It's just my analysis machine. I can turn it off if you want."

She'd left it on for an experiment involving tree sap, but reasoned Barbossa would offer much more in terms of knowledge. He didn't reply, instead just choosing to stare at the device. The rest weren't switched on, but the analysis machine did take up a large amount of space against the wall.

Regretting she'd lose parts of the data gathered, she walked towards the generator and, casting her horn towards it, turned off the machine. It slowed from the hectic spinning to a soothing whir, before finally ceasing activity all together. Looking back towards Hector, she saw he still hadn't moved much from his previous position on the stairs, keeping his stance against the wall.

"Here's your bed."

Kicking the mattress lying in the middle of the floor, she motioned with her hooves for the human to come downstairs. There was an old, brown sheet covering it, with an equally old quilt to go along with it. It was deep, dark blue, with ruffles at the side and yellow stars decorating the front, or at least what was left of them.

Moving down the steps, Barbossa still refused to take his eyes of the machine. He couldn't do anything to it, seeing as he had no access to magic and it had a spell on it, so there wasn't any reason he couldn't be around it. But it still confused her how wary of it he was.

Moving out of the way of the bed she'd set up, she was surprised when he walked straight past it, instead heading for the machine. Walking right up to it, he hesitantly brushed his finger across the metal, before doing the same with his other hand and giving it a knock with his knuckles.

"What does it do?"

"A lot of things."

"How does it work?"

"It's kind of like a magical science."

Taking one last look before moving for the bed, he stared at the beakers filled with tree sap, and the wires leading from the machine to the different parts around it, before tapping one of the beakers.

"It be like no magic I've ever seen."

He turned to the bed, sitting down on it before scratching his knee.

"Any science for that matter either."

"Well, I'm not talking about it tonight. You can ask tomorrow if you really have to. But as long as you don't touch anything, the machine won't do anything either."

It was a relief, actually. If he was wary of her machines, then he'd be less likely to touch them. She could have just let him sleep in the library, but there was always the danger of him escaping. Putting a spell on the windows was doable, but it was easier just doing it to one door and a few possessions.

"Aye, fine. Ye done now, or are ye gonna keep pesterin' me?"

Taking of his boots, hat and coat, he lay down on top of the quilt, yawning and scratching his scalp with his hand.

"It wouldn't hurt to be nicer, you know."

"I'd rather not take the chance."

Clicking her teeth at the large house guest, she turned around and walked up the stairs towards the library. Looking back down, making sure anything of particular importance was out of the room, she offered him one last chance to be cordial.

"Good night."

Hearing nothing in reply, she sighed before walking towards the door, but heard a voice just before closing it.

"Aye. Night," he replied, irritated and angry, but Twilight surmised it was the best she was going to receive.

Climbing to her own bed, she wriggled under the covers and rested her head on the pillow. Spike was already asleep, or a least he appeared to be. His breathing was calm and slow, and deciding he had the right idea, Twilight followed his lead.

**Author's Note:** Barbossa is back, huzzah! And thanks to Pata-K and DannyJ for proofreading this chapter. And a nice long chapter to make up for the last one.


	9. He's a Pirate

**Chapter 9 - He's a Pirate **

"Get up!"

Having grown tired of banging on the basement door, Twilight had finally forced herself to move downstairs to wake the pirate herself. It didn't help; even shouting from a few inches away failed to wake him. Although Twilight had more than a hunch that he was simply ignoring her.

"I said up! The princess will be here soon."

It was already past eleven, and while the purple mare and her scaly friend had been up since eight preparing for the royal visit, she had put off fetching Barbossa. It was unlikely he would have made himself useful anyway. Pulling the quilt over his head, and proving Twilight's suspicions correct, the unicorn lost her patience.

"Fine. Be that way."

Turning around, Twilight bucked the mattress hard with her hind legs, flipping it over. Catapulting the captain onto the hard, oak floor, he had no time to react before his former bed landed on top of him, sheets and all.

"Bloody, stupid horses..."

Fighting his way out of the sheets and covers, Barbossa got to his knees and rubbed his eyes with the palm. Blinking and letting out a loud, gruff yawn, he climbed to his feet and stretched his back. Twilight grimaced at the sound of his popping bones. He did it far more often than he needed to.

"As I was saying, the princess will be here soon. You need to get ready."

Letting loose another yawn, the captain tediously sighed and looked down at the unicorn. He grated his teeth together, and looked down from over his nose.

"And what would ye have me do? Put on me best clothes?"

"I don't know. You've left it too late to wash yourself...you could comb your mane or something?"

Barbossa's eye twitched. Trust a woman to give that kind of answer...

"For humans, it be called hair, and I don't comb mine."

"Yeah, I can tell," she said as she shook her head, "Fine. Just get your flank upstairs."

Grumbling under his breath, he kicked aside the old mattress and walked towards the stairs. He would have to explain what his body parts were called eventually; it annoyed him to no end when they kept saying he had claws or talons. It was somewhat funny at first, but manes and flippers? Surely there were some animals that had hands and feet?

"Aye, fine. But buck the bed while I'm in it again, and I swear to God I'll be shovin' those rusty springs somewhere your muzzle can't reach!" he said, clenching his fist together and slamming the wall in front of the purple mare's face.

Stammering and unable to properly respond, Twilight nervously nodded her head and hurriedly made her way upstairs, followed moments later by Barbossa himself.

Coming into the library, he arrived to see not just Twilight and the dragon, but also Fluttershy and Applejack as well. Ducking under the small door, he raised a hand to the pegasus, somewhat confused as to what to do. She was stood on her own, apparently reading a book, while the others were huddled in a small group doing something else.

Fluttershy just looked at him for a few second before nervously smiling and going off to stand with her friends.

"Are the others not comin'?"

He didn't really care, but seeing as no one liked him, asking how their friends were keeping would surely help raise his standing. The farmer just eyed him before answering.

"They're off pickin' up Rainbow from hospital."

Or maybe it would just remind them of what he did. Staring back at Applejack, Barbossa turned away from the small group and took a gander over the bookshelves. If they weren't willing to talk, he couldn't be bothered trying.

Looking over the colourful selection of books present, there weren't many that caught his attention. He'd never been one for literature, but like any proper man, he had learned to read from a young age.

Anyone could be part of a crew, but only those intelligent enough could lead one. Then again, he didn't learn to read for the sole reason of becoming a captain; back in the early days, it was more a way of opening connections. If a captain was stupid enough to not have an ability to read, he would want a first mate that could.

Either way, he had the capacity to choose something to read, and as he had nothing better to do, he might as well find something to humour himself, at least until the pony princess got here. Pulling out a book with water droplets emblazoned on the spine, he held it in his hand and looked down at the cover.

"'Darin' Doo and the Trident of the Seaponies'?"

Flipping it over to the description, he surmised that seaponies were likely this world's equivalent of mermaids. Putting the book back, he searched for something less fictional to read. Although depending on the subject, anything he read here could be considered fictional. The beings stood not five feet from him were considered fictional.

Moving across the room, he found a whole selection of books covering a vast amount of subjects, from gardening to topics surrounding science. Barbossa couldn't understand much about the latter topics, but there were also many books on the creatures that roamed this world. Picking a dark green one out from the shelf, he turned it over and read the cover.

"'Tooth and Claw'."

It was an educational book, filled with information on beasts and creatures that were known for their attacking power and instincts. It was basically the same book he had stolen from the cottage, albeit one with less fluffy creatures and more ferocious ones.

Taking an interest, the pirate sat down on a large, green couch and began reading. While he recognized the names of some creatures, they were few and far between. It appeared that most of the creatures he feared either didn't exist here, or, if they did exist, he guessed they weren't considered a threat. The horses could talk, so it was no stretch of the imagination to think that other animals could do the same.

"Miss Sparkle!" he yelled over to the purple pony, "Do ye have talkin' lions here?"

"Erm…" she sighed nervously, "Yes, we do, but only in certain parts of Zebrica."

Her friends readied to ask their questions, but the captain spoke up first. He held the book the in the air.

"And talkin' tigers too?"

"Y-yes."

Scratching his beard, Barbossa dropped the book he was reading on the chair before restarting his search of the bookshelves.

"Would…would you like a book about them. Tigers and lions, I mean? The book you had was more suited for wild animals, and there isn't really anything you'd want in that section."

Barbossa nodding in response, Twilight went over to the appropriate shelves and fetched one book on Tigraniese culture, and another on Zebrican Leeu tribes. Levitating them into his hands, Twilight gave him a quick smile and watched as he sat down on the same chair he had got up from, before moving back to her friends.

"How does he know about tigers and lions?" Spike asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Maybe he has them where he comes from too? There's still a lot I wanted to ask him, but I think he got bored with my questions."

"His world sounds pretty dangerous," he noted, "He said it was full of zombies and other scary stuff."

"Zombies?" Applejack scoffed,"Like the brain eatin' kind? They don't really exist Spike."

"Not in our world, but they apparently do in his. He also said that unicorns and pegasi were only legends and stories where he comes from."

"Any earth ponies?"

Good to know Applejack had her priorities straight.

"Yes, but they don't talk. Or do anything apparently. I'm going to ask him more after the princess has gone; his world just sounds so different to ours."

"Well, Ah'd rather not go there any time soon, what with all the zombies and lions running around and whatnot. It's startin' ta sound kinda evil in m-"

Hearing the clearing of a throat, Applejack turned around to see the pirate standing over her with his forelegs crossed and his leaning down towards her. Looking him in the eye, she turned her head towards Twilight, before nervously laughing back at Barbossa.

"But it...uh, sure sounds mighty fine for a pirate," she managed to stammer before retreating back behind her friends.

"Ye seem te think that I like havin' dangerous creatures roamin' around."

"Well...don't ya? Ye'd be used to it and all."

"Oh, sure. Reanimated corpses under the servitude of yer enemies and creatures that hunt ye down and eat ye down te the bones."

He smiled and widened his eyes.

"Aye, it's a blast."

"Your world doesn't sound very nice," Fluttershy squeaked from next to Applejack.

"Aye, but what of yours?"

"O-ours?"

"Yer hydras, dragons and manticores. How are they any better than the krakens and creatures I have te fear?"

Fluttershy looked to her friends for assistance, shaking and hiding behind her mane. Twilight had no real idea in how to respond, but could see he had some form of point.

"But our world sounds more peaceful than yours, so surely we deal with our threats better than your world does?"

The pirate laughed at her, grasping a part of his forehead with his fingers, but instead of continuing their argument, he walked back to the couch.

"Or maybe, yer petty little world ignores yer own problems better than mine does. That'd surely explain ye livin' not a mile from an infested forest."

Sitting down, he picked up the book on lions and continued reading, rendering the conversation finished. Applejack turned back Twilight after she was sure he wasn't coming back.

"He ain't very nice to talk to, is he?"

"I know, but I think he'll open up once he gets some evidence we can actually get him home."

"And can we?" Applejack whispered, pushing herself close to Twilight's ear.

"I think so. There must be a spell for it somewhere."

The sudden sound of hooves clattering to the ground and thudding on the dirt brought Twilight away from her friends, and after a brief spell of leering out the window, she hurried outside. Seeing she had left the building, Spike followed in earnest, pushing the door to the side and leaving it ajar as he left.

Realising both his land lords had left the library, Barbossa closed the book and tossed it on top of the other one he had been reading, along with the book on tigers. Whistling to the two mares left in the room, he looked to Fluttershy, gesturing with a hand towards the door.

"I-it's the princess."

Nodding with a sigh, the captain got to his feet, pushing his way away from the couch. It would be best to get this over with sooner rather than later.

After waiting for a few minutes with no arrival from the royal visitor, Barbossa rubbed his face before making his way over the window. He peered outside only to hear the creak of the library's front door.

Rather than seeing Twilight or Spike walk in, he instead saw who he assumed was their princess. Unlike the stockier build all the other ponies he had seen thus far had, she was far more slender, and taller to match. She was almost as tall as the captain himself, and if anything, she looked much more like what he imagined a unicorn or pegasus would.

Once she had come inside, it became obvious that the princess sported both a horn and a set of wings, but something else caught his eye. Her mane, unlike any of the others he'd seen, flowed effortlessly in the air and seemed more like a light show than any sort of hair. Her coat was impressive too; a regal and unblemished white, but coupled with the rest of her features, it just seemed more grand than Rarity's white coat did.

Seeing an easy chance at redemption, Barbossa swiftly removed his hat before kneeling on to his right knee. Holding his hat to his chest, he also bowed his head to the visitor, hoping the act would seem more respectful than it actually was.

"It be an absolute honour, yer royal majesty," he said as he closed his eyes, "Captain Hector Barbossa, at yer service."

The princess didn't reply, instead opting to silently look over him, moving around him in a slow, steady circle. As he continued to kneel there, Celestia continued to watch over him, rotating her head and focusing her gaze as she scrutinised every aspect of him. Curiously opening his eyes and twisting his head to his side, he watched as the white mare stared back at him, still not speaking a word.

As she moved back to his front, now towering over him thanks to his kneeling stance, she cleared her throat before finally addressing him.

"I have been told about you, Captain Barbossa. Is what my student told me true?"

Rather proud that she'd addressed him by title rather than name, he smiled before he replied, raising his head to face the white coated pony.

"That be dependin' on what she's been tellin' ye."

"That you are from another world. That you landed in our kingdom and are unable to make your way back to your own. Is that true, captain?"

"Aye, every word, I can assure ye."

"And what about me hearing that you not only assaulted Twilight, and bullied one of her closest friends, but sent another of them to hospital? Is that true too, or has my faithful student been feeding me lies?"

Smile fading, he looked back down towards the floor before replying. She spoke in a calm voice, but unlike her pure appearance, her tone depicted anger and frustration more than anything else. But he could hardly deny her; she'd likely already chose who she was more willing to believe, and he was sure as hell it wasn't him.

"...there may be...some truth te the matter, aye."

"And are you sorry for what you did?"

He took no hesitation before responding to her. He hardly the choice to say anything else, given his current situation.

"Gravely."

Twilight and the others stood and stared. They were surprised; they didn't know if it was through fear or respect, but the princess certainly had some form of sway over him. Celestia continued to look down at him from where she stood, showing little or no emotion on her face.

"And do you intend to repent for what you did?"

He let the wind escape his lungs and his eyes widen. Surely Twilight wasn't lying when she said the death penalty didn't exist?

"In…in what manner of speakin' are we talkin'?"

"Can the rest of you leave me with him? Please, we won't be long," she spoke politely, and calmly; differently to how she was addressing him.

Turning his head to the side, he could see the other ponies nodding and silently walking out of the library. Twilight hesitated, staring at her princess before briefly looking towards the pirate.

"It's okay. I'll be fine, Twilight. And so will he."

Less worried about his fate, the pirate let out a sigh of relief. He didn't know what to expect from the monarch, but royal pony didn't seem like the kind to go back on her word. Hearing the front door close for the final time, and realising he was the only being apart from the princess present, he once again dared to look up at her. She was smiling this time.

"I know you're not sorry for what you did. I'm old, captain; I've seen many liars in my time, and you are not as good at it as you think you are."

Bugger. Perhaps she wasn't as naïve as the rest of the ponies were.

"But I'm surely regretful of me actions at least, princess."

He may not have been sorry for sending Rainbow to hospital, seeing as the harlot deserved it, but he regretted doing it. The same could be said for Twilight; he wouldn't have had to go through many of the hardships he'd went through if he'd acted cordially towards them.

"Be that as it may, I want you to at least make amends for your actions. If you agree, I will have to problem with helping you. And you can stand now; I'm sure you don't enjoy bowing to a alien dignitary."

Nodding, he sighed as pushed his way from the floor, cracking as his knees before he finally stood at full height. Kneeling on a wooden floor wasn't the most comfortable way to feign your allegiance, but she'd apparently seen through that as well. Dusting his jacket off, and replacing his hat to his head, he continued with their previous line of conversation.

"And if I don't, I suppose ye'll be keepin' me here fer the rest o' me days? Seems awful black hearted."

"The way I see it, you want a way home. I'm willing to help find that if you repay for the crimes you committed. It's a perfectly reasonable offer, Captain Barbossa."

"And if I did decide te take yer offer, what would ye have me doin'? Labour?"

He couldn't honestly think of much else. If you were caught for any crime, you were executed or thrown in a prison. If you were on of the lucky one, you were put to work.

"If that is what you deem fit; I want you to decide, and if Twilight and her friends deem your acts of kindness suitable, I will have no choice but to agree with them."

The captain rubbed his temples, rather unsure of how to take his punishment, or lack thereof. The lack of death, torture or even an actual punishment was not something that bothered him, but rather, it was the way she talked so casually. She didn't sound demanding, nor did she attempt to raise her voice. By all accounts she should be seething at him.

"So…I'm te decide how to recover me reputation, and if Miss Sparkle deems it suitable, ye'll send me back? And nothin' else besides that?"

"Basically, yes. On the other hoof, if you cause me or my subjects any more grief, I will be forced to keep you under lock and key until a way home for you is found. The first choice gives you freedom, while the other imprisonment. I'm sure I know which option you prefer."

She definitely wasn't as naïve as he'd thought. Her demeanour still troubled him though. She was being too...nice. Too approachable.

"Yer bein' too tolerant. Why? Under normal circumstances I'm guessin' ye'd have me punished and be done wi' me."

The princess kept herself silent. After Barbossa readied to further voice his opinion, she smiled back at him.

"I sense good in you, Captain Barbossa. You bury it deep, and hesitate to acknowledge it, but it's there."

The pirate begged to differ, but if this was his chance at freedom, he was more than willing to humour her. But he did like to think of himself as a fair man. Not the fairest, not by any means, but fair none the less.

"And my full title is Princess Celestia, in case Twilight hadn't told you."

Still caught up on her calling him a good man, he blinked before nodding his head, hoping he had caught everything she had said.

"If ye say so, Princess Celestia. Maybe I'll decide te tell ye mine before I leave."

"Twilight also told me of your dietary requirement. I am sorry, but you will struggle to find edible meat here. Our society is herbivorous one."

"I'm sure I saw chickens durin' me vi-"

"And I'm sure anypony you come across will object to you stealing their pets and eating them. You'll have to find some other source of food for the time being."

Realising he had little to say in the matter, he scratched his beard and let out a tired sigh. As much as he loved meat, there were thankfully other foods he enjoyed. At least he knew he wouldn't be thrown in jail, and if all he had to do was get the ponies' approval, there was little he had to complain about.

"However, if you are willing to wait an extra day or even two, and providing that you act within my guidelines, I am sure I could acquire some meat for you."

Somewhat excited at the thought of getting some meat, and for free too, he casually nodded to the princess before pulling his fingers through his beard.

"Yes, fine. I'll make do. For now."

"I do believe we have a deal then, captain."

"Would ye be willin' te shake on it?"

He held out his hand towards the pony. He liked to think shaking on a deal made it more of a mutual agreement than a one sided one, or at least to the point where he could legitimately chastise and...dispose of the opposing party if they failed to keep it. He doubted the princess would break the deal, nor did he have any doubts that he'd likely lose in a battle without a weapon, but he liked the ritual all the same.

Staring at his hand for a few moments, Celestia smiled before placing her hoof in his grasp. He shook it three times before releasing her from his grasp.

"You are a strange creature, Captain Barbossa."

"Yer point, princess?"

As much as he wanted to talk back or call her out on her own traits, he'd made a decent deal, and he wasn't going to go ruining it after barely a minute by insulting the stronger party.

"No point. I simply meant you're very interesting, despite your drawbacks, and I do hope you will come to think the same about us in due time. But I do believe our little talk is over."

Walking back over to the front door, the royal equine opened it with her hoof before ushering the others inside. The ponies quickly complied, with Twilight being the first to eagerly jump back into the library.

"Are you okay princess?"

"Yes Twilight, I'm fine. Me and Captain Barbossa have an understanding."

"R-really?"

The pirate gruffly nodded to Twilight while shrugging his shoulders.

"Aye. It appears so."

"So you're not gonna send anypony else to hospital?"

Looking towards the new voice, Barbossa saw Rainbow, now wheelchair bound, being wheeled in to the library by a hovering Fluttershy. Her front right foreleg was wrapped in a large, white cast, which was itself resting on an armrest.

The princess looked down towards her before glaring back at the pirate, seemingly angry despite not losing her calm composure. After continuing to stare at him, she walked to the door and addressed all present.

"If he wants to keep his freedom until we find him a route home, then I highly doubt he will be causing any more trouble. Although, he does know what will happen should he displease anypony, isn't that right?"

She gave the pirate a knowing smile. Replying with a mocking salute and a a growl, he jumped down onto the chair he had occupied earlier. Cracking his fingers, he picked up the book on lions and returned to reading it, flipping a page soon after sitting down.

The princess took one last look at him before pulling herself away long enough to walk up to Twilight, who was rolling her eyes at the pirate.

"Twilight, as per your request, he will stay here. I'd rather he didn't, but seeing as he seems more willing than I first thought to follow my instructions, I will leave him in your care. I would like to talk with you alone for a moment though."

"O-oh, okay..."

In what the pirate suspected was deliberate action, Princess Celestia left with her student, leaving him alone with everybody else. Feeling that he was supposed to talk to them, he forcefully tossed the book he wanted to read back on to the spot he had picked it up from.

"So," he said as he clapped his hands and rubbed them together, "it be good te see ye again Rainbow. I'm dreadfully sorry for our little brawl in the forest. I'm hopin' ye can see it yer 'eart te forgive a poor, lost pirate?"

Rainbow jumped and hopped around in her chair, shifting and nudging it until it finally faced Barbossa.

"You really think I'm gonna believe that?"

Barbossa shrugged.

"Not really, but it were well worth a shot. I will at least be on pleasant grounds durin' me stay, and I'm hopin' fer yer own sake ye do the same."

"But if you do anything else, the princess will lock you up! She even said so herself. We all heard her."

"Aye, but she's anythin' but stupid, I'll give her that much. If ye push me te wringin' in yer little blue neck, I'm certain ye'll be just as guilty of the results as I will."

Slowly and awkwardly wheeling her chair back, Rainbow waited until she was far enough away from the captain before grumbling and turning to the rest of her friends, but not before Rarity moved forward to approach Barbossa herself.

"And why are you going to be on pleasant grounds? Are you acting all nice to get on the princess' good side?"

"It appals me te think ye look upon me so lowly, Miss Rarity. If I stay within' her laws, she'll repay me with the right te not be imprisoned. Where I come from, that be a rather fine state of affairs."

Celestia had saw through his act from the start anyway; there was no point in even trying to lie to her. Pity too; it would have made everything easier, although he didn't know exactly what he could have lied about, given all the witnesses were apparently well known to her.

"And what are her rules?"

"Acts of charity under me own choosin'. If I repay for what I did, and ye deem the acts acceptable, I stay free. If I decide te wound ye, I'll be thrown in the pony prison."

Pulling an apple out of his pocket, he took a large, hearty bite out if it with an audible crunch. Lifting it away to reveal a large missing chunk, he licked his lips as the juice ran from his chin down to the tip of his beard.

"In essence, me little ponies, I'll be stayin' on your good side."

Celestia wandered through the gardens of her castle. It had been hours since she had left Ponyville, but her mind still pondered and worried over the recent events of the day. Luna walked along at her side, equally as unsure as to whether they were right to think what they did. It wasn't long before they reached their destination. The sun princess had been there often enough to know where it was.

"Is this another one of your games?"

The creature didn't answer back, keeping the same frozen expression carved across its face that it always had. Regardless, the two sisters continued to glare at it, as if it would somehow cause the statue to answer their question.

"You really think it is him, Tia? He is encased in stone, encased in a prison of stone; beyond our reach."

"Yes, but are we beyond his? Discord has powers beyond comprehension, and something from beyond our way of thinking has once again arrived in our land. What is to say they are unrelated?"

"What is to say they are? Even Discord himself maintained that the creature from all those years ago was not of his choosing."

"But that doesn't mean he didn't summon him in the first place; it simply means he had no choice in what arrived."

"And what of this new visitor? Is it kind?"

"I believe him to be corrupted and fuelled by desire. He is a liar, a thief, and prone to acts of violence. However, he is not a completely evil soul. He is fair in his judgements and even agreed to compromise his diet to suit our vegetarian customs. He accepted my offer too."

"Then what is to say he will act on his desires? Is he like the Moonlight's Torment?"

"No. Captain Hector Barbossa seems more like a tainted soul than a blackened one. And he does indeed want a way home, just as Twilight said. The last one never wanted to leave. I often wish it had."

"We shall send the new alien home then. Doesn't that solve our problem?"

"We will first need to find him a way home. Spells may well exist, but they will need to be found, and that will take time. I set Hector Barbossa his task to keep him occupied while he waits for that time to end; I don't want him indulging in his darker tendencies"

"You are lucky he is staying with Twilight Sparkle then."

"I am also lucky she was so insistent that he'd stay. I had intended to ask, but after seeing how eager she was, I didn't even need to in the end."

"Then all we need to do now is search for a spell and let time tell its tale."

"Sadly. Hopefully this time the bell will chime with a less chaotic toll."

**Author's Note:** Bit of a late update, I know, but life got in the way again. Not really in a bad way, but it did demand more of my time than this story, which sucks, seeing as I quite like doing it. Anyway, thanks to DannyJ and Pata-K for proofreading my terrible writing.


	10. Wheel of Fortune

**Chapter 10: Wheel of Fortune**

The honourable captain stood in front of the door, blankly staring back and forth between it and the purple pony standing at his side. It had been little over a couple of hours since the princess had left, and Twilight had finally decided to ask something of Hector.

"Ye can't be serious?"

"Hector, you stink; you're taking a bath. When was the last time you even had one?"

It had bothered her since his arrival, but until the princess pointed it out during their discussion, nopony saw fit to bring it up. In hindsight, it was one of the things he could have done before meeting Celestia in the first place.

"A month. Maybe two."

Twilight moved back, scrunching up her muzzle for good measure. Spike did the same, holding his nose and waving a claw in the air for added emphasis.

"T...two months?!"

"Aye. And?"

"And?! That's disgusting!"

How could someone go a whole two months without bathing?! Twilight felt uncomfortable going even two days without taking a bath. Rarity would have had him hosed down there and then if she'd been present.

"I'm not made o' money. Besides, a quick plunge in te the sea be just as good as what any bath can offer."

"N...no it isn't! You get salt in your mane and everything!"

Grumbling and pulling a strained face, the captain turned towards his purple landlord. Spike just stood back out off the way, raising his arms in the air to avoid getting sucked in to the argument.

"It's called _hair_. And ye really think I care about it getting' salty? I'm a pirate, Miss Sparkle, not a nobleman. Yer lucky I were the one that landed on yer doorstep; some men seldom wash at all."

"I don't care. You're taking a bath if it kills me. Now take off your clothes."

The pirate widened his eyes, before looking to Spike to assure he had heard her right. Shrugging his shoulders, the small purple dragon walked down the hall and back to the main room of the library. Rainbow was still there, seeing as she wished to watch over the pirate, although despite this, she refused to follow him to the bathroom.

Barbossa watched the small dragon walk away before turning back to Twilight.

"Excuse me?"

"Take off your clothes. You can't wear them in the bath, and they need to be washed too. I can have them done before you're even finished bathing."

He wasn't one to shy away from being unclothed, but something about doing it in front of a purple unicorn didn't strike him as something he wanted to do. Or something he would ever do. Or something he would have deemed liable to actually happen.

"I'll pass 'em out te ye after I've emptied me pockets. I'm not trustin' ye wi' me things after what ye did last time."

He wouldn't have given her any of his belongings anyway, but knowing how questionable she was, she would have likely wanted a reason. He also didn't want to lose the small knife he kept in his boot. He was doubtful it would even be used, or actually needed in this world, but he was thankful they hadn't found it while he was unconscious. He felt horribly unsafe without a proper weapon on his person.

Trudging into the bathroom, he took notice of how unbearably clean it was. All that was present were the basics; a sink, a bath and what appeared to be some sort of toilet. There wasn't a crate, hole or bucket under it, but it was the only thing he could compare it too. It was also too low for even a young human to use without difficulty.

There was also a small mirror above the sink, and a colourful selection of toiletries on the side. Some he recognised as perfume, but the others were labelled with things he'd never heard of. He certainly didn't want his hair bleached red and smelling of strawberries, and seeing as most of them were bright, garish colours, he chose to avoid using any of them.

"I'll just steer clear..."

He'd been to bath houses before, but he'd never been rich enough to own his own. Then again, Twilight was a student of the princess; she was either high enough in society already, or using her connections to her advantage. If he were of some relation to a lord or royal, he'd certainly make use of the power.

"Can you hurry up and give me your clothes. Why do you even wear them anyway?" Twilight yelled from beyond the door.

"Because it gets very cold when yer not."

"So it's always cold where you're from?"

"No."

"Then why?"

Great. She was still pestering him, even when he was readying for the bath she wanted him to have. Although, a free bath wasn't something he got everyday. Well, not in an actual bath, anyway.

"Your kind has fur, and mine does not. I can't see it bein' anythin' but simple logic, Miss Sparkle. Maybe yer not as smart as yer princess believes ye to be."

Stamping her hoof against the floor, and once again on the bathroom door, she furrowed her eyes as she addressed him, despite knowing he wouldn't actually see her face.

"But I didn't know for definite if you had fur or not! And we have coats, not fur!"

Waiting for his reply, she was surprised when he simply threw his clothes out of the slightly opened door. Looking at the hefty pile of cloth now lying in her hallway, she noted the slightly sour smell it had with it. She was about to comment when she heard the door click shut. The running of water could also be heard from inside the bathroom.

"Is there any particular way I have to wash your clothes? Do they need to be dry cleaned?"

"Don't be bloody stupid. Ye have te wash 'em with water!"

Sighing at his answer, she guessed he simply didn't care and levitated his clothes down the hall and into a large bucket. Filling it with water, she cast her spell, hoping the self washing water wouldn't do anything to the otherworldly fabrics. Stepping over to his boots, she readied to do a similar spell to them when her eyes began to water.

"Oh dear Luna..."

They stank. More so than she thought they would. Somewhat envious that Spike and Rainbow were in a different room, she gagged before giving the shoes a similar treatment to his clothes. She didn't know how to wash his boots, seeing as she had never had to wash a similar style of shoe before, but Twilight guessed it couldn't be too different to washing clothes. And if he did indeed spend a good deal of his time at sea, adding some more water to them could hardly make much of a difference.

Moving back to the clothes, and pleased they weren't as dirty as they smelled, she removed them from the basin before drying the soggy pile of fabrics in the air. Waiting until everything was dry, she used another spell to flatten any creases. Rarity had taught her it a while ago, and while she rarely wore clothes, it did help when pulling out an outfit at the last minute. Or washing clothes for alien pirates, apparently.

"He better be happy with them."

Not that she cared. She wasn't being mean, but as long as he no longer smelled, it was fine by her. After she was sure everything was adequately cleaned and steamed, she folded them into a neat pile at her side. Drying the boots and steaming them for good measure, just in case, she placed them on top of the neat stack of clothes before levitating the whole ensemble down the corridor back to the bathroom.

Once again finding herself at the bathroom door, she knocked before waiting for his response. Seeing his arm reach out of the door, she instead floated everything through into the bathroom herself. Waiting for him to dress and savour having actual clean pieces of clothing, Twilight put a frown on her face when he finally opened the door.

"Your clothes were putrid. They practically left marks on my wash basin."

"Aye well, so did I."

As she watched Barbossa walk merrily down the hall, Twilight curiously poked her head into the bathroom. Along with most of the towels being strewn across the floor, there was also a dark mark of grime lining the edge of the bathtub. She could also see the odd grain of dirt and sand sitting at the bottom of the tub.

"Ugh..."

She would make him clean it if she could, but at the very least he had washed himself. Or so she hoped anyway. Reluctantly deciding to leave the bathtub for the time being, she put the towels into the wash basket and resolved to join the rest of the creatures in the main part of the library. Hoping to talk to Barbossa some more, Twilight went straight for the captain.

"Hector, can I ask you something?"

Looking up from the book he had already took hold of, Barbossa groaned and nodded, holding up one of his digits to signify that he would indeed only answer one.

"You remember the machine from the basement, right?"

"Aye. Bloody miserable thing too. Don't see how ye could analyse anythin' wi' that noise goin' on around ye."

"Well, do you not have anything like that where you're from?"

"That be two questions ye've asked now," he said, smiling cockily "but no."

"What's the most advanced thing you have in your world?"

Rubbing his forehead and once again groaning, he clenched his fingers before remembering he couldn't exactly do anything to upset her. Her line of questioning did pique his interest though.

"Advanced...advanced? Like ships or telescopes?"

"I mean like machines."

"We have cannons; they're made of metal like yer contraption downstairs. Or pistols."

Unsure how to explain to him what she meant, Twilight decided that his response in itself answered her question. If he didn't know what she rightly meant by machines, then he didn't have a concept of them.

"So you've never seen anything like my analysis machine? How about Trains?"

The captain gave a slight shake of his head before lowering his brow.

"Trains?"

"Locomotive forms of transport. On rails."

The man merely shook his head again, rather curious as to what she was talking about. Maybe the ponies weren't a complete waste of time to be spending time with.

Jumping off to the shelves around the library, Twilight soon came back with a book floating beside her. It was lime green, and she opened it to a page with a rather large machination pictured in colour.

"This is a train."

The captain pulled the book from the air and brought it towards his face. He still couldn't get over how crisp the pictures in this worlds books were. Even mappers couldn't afford to have images printed this clearly. He didn't even know if they possibly could. The machine was somewhat less impressive, with it basically being a large metal barrel fused onto a set of wheels

"And what's it do again?"

"It moves along a rail. If you use the correct engine and coal, it can even move on it's own."

"Engines? They're for_ minin'_ Miss Sparkle. Not travel."

Deciding it was clear he hadn't heard of trains, she instead found a book on early steam engines, seeing as he apparently had some knowledge of them. It confused her as to how he knew about engines, but didn't know about machines, but in the end chose to take paradoxical answer as an answer in itself; he either genuinely didn't know, or didn't really care.

Focusing her attention back on the pirate, she watched as he looked at the pictures with the same look of intrigue as he had done with the previous one.

"How do you get the pictures so clear?"

"The picture? Don't you care about the engines?"

"Not really. Being a blacksmith was never me forte. And they're useless things. Noisy too."

"Well...we just take a photo and print it in the book. Oh, do you have cameras?"

Seeing him once again shake his head, this time with a audible grumble and wave of his hand, she chose to drop her line of questioning. He'd answered her questions without knowing anyway. Moving to leave, she suddenly raised her head before turning back to face him, much to his displeasure.

"If you have engines, why were you scared of my machine?"

"There was bloody lighting comin' from it! Ye think that's normal?! Have ye any idea what that can do te a man?!"

Slowly backing away, and somewhat regretting she had asked, Twilight left the pirate to his lion book and joined her friends on the other side of the room. She could still hear him talking and complaining as she wandered away.

"What was he saying? Did he insult you again?"

"No he didn't. Actually, I think I've learned more about where he came from."

Rainbow pursed her lips and rested her head against her cast.

"I thought he came from another world full of pirates and stuff."

"But I think it's more than that; his world is basically ours, but a good few hundred years behind. I mean, I know his species rules the world instead of ours, and he doesn't use magic, but it's kind of the same."

"So...like an alien time traveller?" Rainbow asked.

"Kind of. Picture 'The Hay Day of Pony Piracy', and then picture Hector as a pony; he would fit right in. More or less."

Rainbow and Spike looked at the pirate from across the room before squinting their eyes. The rainbow maned mare tilted her head slightly to the side before quietly giggling to herself. Letting them finish their little moment of picturing Hector as a pony, Twilight continued.

"He couldn't even grasp why the pictures in the books were so clear, let alone anything in them, and he thought cannons and old mining engines were the most advanced thing in terms of technology his world had to offer. He also said pistols, but they're basically smaller cannons anyway."

"Then why don't we have them?" Rainbow asked, "If we're ahead of him, shouldn't we have anything he has?"

Twilight shook her head.

"Not necessarily. From what he said, they use their cla...hands to operate them. We haven't got any, so they never got invented. And even if they did, only unicorns could use them, and because we have magic anyway, they're not very useful. Anything that involves the need for his extra appendages won't exist in out society."

Spike and Rainbow looked at each other before looking towards the pirate. He was still reading the book, and if he could hear them, made no indication of it.

"At the very least, we know his world is less advanced than ours. I don't know if it will help or anything, but if we want to understand more about his world, we could try and compare it to our past. The princess did ask me to find out more about him while she researched for ways to get him home, so I may as well start there."

Grabbing yet another book from the shelves, Twilight wandered off to begin her research, leaving Spike and Rainbow to watch over the pirate captain. Barbossa had since taken up writing, pilfering a piece of parchment left on the floor and a quill from a nearby desk. As time passed on, and as nothing of any particular interest happened, Spike and Rainbow took to talking to occupy themselves.

Barbossa, on the other hand, still continued to look into the piece of paper he had within his grasp. The day was getting on, and while it was still early in the afternoon, the pirate at least wanted to get some of his sentence over and done with. He would have preferred an actual punishment, however. At least then he wouldn't have to think of something charitable to do.

The most he'd done over the last half hour minutes was note down the ponies he believed needed repayment. Or at least the ones he believed the others thought needed repayment. He was also bored. There was a distinct lack of excitement in the library, especially since books weren't his first choice for entertainment. He certainly took to a few during the longer voyages, but he was more partial to the adventure and the fight. But here he was stuck under the metaphorical thumb of multi-coloured ponies and fairy tale creatures.

Cracking his fingers, the pirate got to his feet and started making his way towards the front door. Widening her eyes, Rainbow quickly nudged Twilight on the shoulder before rapidly motioning towards the human.

"And _where_ do you think you're going?" Twilight questioned, tapping her hoof rapidly against the floor.

"I'm goin' outside."

"Hector, you can't just go wandering around outside."

"On the contrary, Miss Sparkle, I believe I can. There were no orders from yer royal mistress confining me te yer home, nor were there any sayin' I couldn't venture outside. Furthermore, she said herself I would be hard laboured to find meat in yer land, and as such would need te find somethin' else to fend of starvation. Both lines o' thought lead me te leavin' yer library."

Twilight stood there, stunned. Her hoof was half raised in the air, attempting to object to his reasoning. But she couldn't. Rather annoyingly, his reasoning was rather sound. Finding it hard to launch a complaint, Rainbow interjected with her own line of logical thinking.

"But you might hurt somepony else. That's reason enough."

"And how do you suppose I'll go about maimin' a horse without a sword or pistol? If there were more than one of ye surroundin' me, I'd stand little te no chance at comin' out unscathed. There'd be no point in attackin' anyone in the middle o' a busy town either."

He chose to leave out the fact he had a knife, seeing as it would do nothing to further his argument. He was still being truthful though, seeing as a small knife wouldn't do him any favours against three or four horses.

Clenching her teeth and looking towards the purple mare for backup, Rainbow watched as she continued to stare unblinkingly at the pirate. Looking towards the floor and pursing her lips, Twilight finally widened her eyes and addressed him.

"That may be, but I doubt letting you wander around Ponyville would be deemed a good idea by the princess. If you must leave, we're coming with you."

If she couldn't keep him inside, she would at the very least keep him within her sights. She didn't think he'd try and pull something in public anyway, but she wasn't willing to take that risk. Shrugging his shoulders and closing his eyes, he continued his walk towards the door.

"If ye feel ye must, then by all means, Miss Sparkle. I'll be needin' acceptable currency for food anyway."

Realising he'd actually now left the building, Twilight quickly grabbed Rainbow's wheelchair and ushered Spike to follow her outside, grabbing her saddlebag on the way out. Exiting the door, they came out to see the pirate looking around himself, spinning on the spot in a slow circle.

Finally looking back at his temporary home, he raised an eyebrow and opened his mouth, as if to speak, although nothing ever left his mouth. But after a moment of composure, he did eventually ask his question.

"Ye live in a tree? A _livin' _tree? With leaves?"

"Yes. Your point being?"

Twilight turned around to look at her home, rather perturbed at what had him so confused. The pirate eventually sighed and rubbed his eyes.

"Nothin'. Nothin' worth tryin' te argue with ye about."

Walking off in a random direction, hands buried deep inside his pockets, Twilight and Rainbow exchanged worried looks as they followed. He soon stopped to look around before once again talking to his escorts.

"Which way is the market?"

Rather annoyed that she did indeed have to take him to a very public area, she motioned to her right and he began to follow.

"Couldn't I just fetch you some food myself?"

"Now how ye goin' te go about doin' that when ye don't know what I like?" he said mockingly, "I might even feel the urge te try somethin' new, and seein' as yer world may have different foods altogether, not takin' me with ye seems altogether illogical."

Grumbling at the pirate, Twilight nodded and continued to walk through town. There weren't very many ponies around the library, but as they got closer to the market, she could see and hear others reacting to the strange creature wandering the streets.

Some were just staring at him, trying to assure if he was actually real, while some of the shyer residence cowered as he walked passed. Many of the ponies wandering around town were whispering too, while other didn't bother to lower their voice.

"What is that?"

"Does Twilight even know it's there?"

"It looks _so_ freaky..."

Twilight looked at Rainbow and Spike before comparing worried glances back at the human following them. Maybe they should have tried to disguise him. Or make him shorter.

"You see what you've started? Now everypony's going to want to ask questions."

"Now ye know how_ I_ feel. And ye didn't really think I'd stay inside durin' the whole duration o' me stay, did ye? I'd be leavin' yer home eventually."

About to reply, Twilight stopped when she saw somepony walk towards them. It took the purple pony a few seconds to realised the mint green pony coming towards her was Lyra.

"Hey guys," she said, looking towards the group, "Who's...your...er..."

Lyra looked behind her back towards a purple and pink maned mare before motioning towards the captain with her forehoof. Seeing that somepony had actually started talking to the group, more ponies stepped forward. Not all of them wandered right up to them, but those who did moved closer to Barbossa than anypony else.

The pirate was no stranger to large crowds, but he still found it unnerving to see pretty much all the creatures in the nearby vicinity simply staring at him. It was more disturbing still that everyone was a talking, brightly coloured, talking horse.

Twilight just stood there, rather unsure of what to say. Should she tell them? Looking to Rainbow and Spike for assistance, both returned an equally unsure expression. Her call for help was answered when Barbossa himself suddenly started talking.

"What's yer name?"

"L-Lyra," she managed to stutter.

"Well, ain't that a fine name. _Lyra_. It be a pleasure te meet another of Miss Sparkle's gracious friends."

Lyra flinched back as he spoke, lowering her head and looking towards the crowd for reassurance. The cream coloured mare she was looking towards before nudged her hooves forward, before moving her head in the direction of the pirate. The mint green pony smiled in response, and with nothing better to do, did the same to Barbossa.

"I guess. I like it anyway."

Grinning towards Twilight, Barbossa let his teeth show before elegantly removing his hat from his head with his left hand.

"Captain Hector Barbossa, at yer service."

He grandly bowed before his audience, one hand behind his back and the other at his front. The closer ponies, Lyra included, moved back as his body moved in a downward motion. Standing back up to full height, and replacing his hat, he watched as the crowd slowly but surely moved back into their previous position.

"And it be such a privilege to be amidst such fine company. In such a splendid town too!" he yelled, raising his hands into the air and holding them out at his sides.

Shaking her head at the captain, Rainbow readied to speak up when Twilight hushed her. She didn't mind Rainbow speaking her piece to everypony, just as long as they got past his awkward introduction first. Besides, she'd much rather he hammed up the situation than cause the town to revolt against him. Everypony seemed to be pleased with him so far, at least.

As Barbossa stood there, in the midst of the few dozen ponies forming his audience, he waited for something to happen. He hardly knew what he was going to say, but given the crowd and his presence in a town solely populated by ponies, he knew one of them would speak up eventually.

"Um..."

And he was right. A mare moved forward. It was a white mare with a light pink mane. At least she wasn't as garish as Pinkie or Rainbow.

"Wha-"

She stopped to turn around and face another pony. She was shaking her head and mouthing something to the white mare. From what Barbossa could gather, the pink maned pony was about to speak to him with the wrong terminology.

"_Who_ are you?"

The pirate once again raised his arms in the air. The ponies didn't flinch this time, and he saw it as the perfect opportunity to raise his standing in society. Twilight and her friends may not be too trusting towards him, but that didn't mean he couldn't build bridges with the beings who hadn't had the pleasure to meet him yet.

"I'm a seafarin' pioneer from a far off land, and I'm stayin' with the kind Miss Sparkle until I'm fit and ready te leave."

Most of the ponies whispered among themselves, glaring at him with varying degrees of disbelief. The pirate, on the other hand, failed to let his smile drop. Twilight moved to speak her part, now that ponies knew he was peaceful, but another pony got in there first.

"I've never seen or heard of anything like you, Mr Barbarossa, and I'm a school teacher. Where is it you came from? And what are you?"

Annoyed his name had been mispronounced, he continued to hold his smile. He couldn't ruin this chance. He couldn't ruin this at all, for that matter. He took in a long, deep breath before addressing the dark pink pony.

"Me name is Captain Hector _Barbossa_, and I assure ye, me story is the honest truth, little pony. I'm an acquaintance of yer noble Princess Celestia, an' I'm more than sure she'd be able to wither away any doubt ye'd be havin' about me authenticity."

The teacher didn't seem to pleased with the answer she had received, but before she could talk about it, another pony cropped up from the crowd instead. This one didn't even bother to moved forward from the crowd, instead choosing to jump and shout from the crowd.

"Are...you! Hey! Over here!"

The, apparently, small pony kept jumping up and down, failing to actually get out what he wanted to say. The crowd eventually let him walk forward by standing to the side, creating a path of sorts for him to walk through. The little colt then awkwardly meandered forward, seemingly very happy.

"Are...are you a pirate?"

He was mostly white in colour, with darker brown blotches covering him and various point on his body. Barbossa thought he looked more like a dog than a pony.

"What's makes ye say that?"

The little colt continued to breath heavily, obviously tired from jumping around.

"Because you have a cool coat and a bandanna! An-and a cool pirate hat!"

Barbossa wasn't too sure if cool was an insult or a compliment, but given the invigorated way the little horse had addressed him, he assumed it was more likely to be the latter.

"And you talk piratey too! And if you came here in ship, that means you have to be a pirate!"

Barbossa furrowed his brow and looked towards the crowd for any sort of guide on how to respond. None of the ponies looked angry, nor did any of them seem aggravated at the child's talk of pirates. He also realised that, while Twilight's friends hardly liked him, none of them disliked him for being a pirate. Pinkie even seemed quite pleased with the idea. She had also said Rainbow thought the same.

And Twilight had also told him pirates no longer existed in this world. Remembering she had mentioned it yesterday, he had asked the purple mare about pirates after Celestia left their presence.

"So...are you a pirate or not?"

Pirates were apparently, for the most part, fondly remembered within this world. He had been shown a book, and while the pony pirates were nowhere near as ruthless as anyone he knew, they were hardly decent members of society. However, Twilight said they were mostly known for their adventures and stories rather than their misgivings and crimes.

Deciding he would test the waters, he looked down at the little colt before finally answering his question.

"Aye...if ye think I am."

He watched as the little pony began to smile, once again mouthing the word 'cool'. Not quite sure what to say next, he looked around to the other ponies. He wasn't too sure if what he said had been well received, but he _was_ sure more than one gleeful sound came from within the group of equines surrounding him.

"Really? A real pirate?" a blue pony asked, raising their voice towards the end of the question.

"Aye, one o' the nice ones."

He thought it best to clarify just in case. But the blue pony with the pink mane nodded and started smiling towards some of the others. She appeared quite young as well.

"And do you have a ship?"

Barbossa turned his head to look behind him, trying to focus on who was talking. He was pleasantly surprised how happy they seemed to be, even if it did mean everyone was trying to talk to him. He would have been better of saying he was a pirate from the start! At least they had wandered away from asking what he was and where he came from.

But hoping to gather his food and have a gander around the town instead of answering to his adoring public, he stood there, actively trying to work out how to get away from the crowd without being suspicious, before Twilight began shouting out towards everyone.

"I know you all have a lot of questions, but we're very busy! You can ask me anything you want to know later, but just give him some space for now! He's finding it a _little hard_ to get settled," she said, addressing the crowd and eyeing Barbossa, hoping he'd get the message.

Nodding towards Twilight, smiling sarcastically at her, he gave a glance towards the crowd, as if to say sorry. Not that he meant it. For once he was actually glad Twilight got involved with his life.

After moments more of chatter, most of the ponies left the captain, going back to their mundane duties. A few gave him glares as they left, but overall most seemed pleased with themselves. It didn't stop a few pestering him, but in the light of his punishment, he sadly saw it fit to humour them, telling them equally kind and distorted truths he had told everyone else. After the rabble had left, Rainbow turned in her chair to face him.

"Now you're lying to the rest of town? Yeah, I can see why the princess trusts you," Rainbow said sarcastically.

"What part of what I said were a lie exactly? I see it more as a kinder reflection of the truth. It keeps the town folk off me back, and gives Miss Twilight and her rabble less of a dilemma. I wouldn't go lookin' gift horse in the mouth when he goes givin' me somethin' like that."

"But...but that doesn't really...You can't lie to everypony when you're what you are."

"Fair enough, Rainbow. Ye have yer good morals. I'll just go and gather them up, tell them I'm a plundering, pillagin' pirate bent on maimin' me fellow man and anythin' in the pursuit of what gains me, and then we'll see what they think of me."

Eerily smiling, knowing full well he'd won the argument, he and the others silently continued their walk towards the market. While the rest of town still seemed unsure of him, apart from the odd wanderer, everyone left them well alone. He even found his new-found sense of being a celebrity quite good, to an extent, seeing as he was famous for something good rather than bad for a change.

Eventually arriving at their destination, Barbossa paused to look around at the stalls surrounding him. They were all fairly small, but most were painted with bright, vibrant colours. Buyers and sellers were all shouting and haggling amongst themselves, much like he had heard the day before. It really was like any market he had been to before.

The number of colours on the ponies themselves was what he found most striking, however. Some were the most strange combinations of colour, vibrant yellows and eerie greens, a few rare ones even had spots and stripes in their manes and wings. He couldn't help but think whether this was a conscious decision; having the most colourful pony selling wares to attract attention.

"So, what _do_ you eat?"

Looking down at Twilight, he struggled to find an answer. He wasn't quite sure if any, or all the food, was actually edible; some of it was so unnaturally bright.

"Fruits I guess. Breads, dairy foods. Vegetables if ye had a way of cookin' 'em. Caviar! Do ye have caviar?"

"Not here. This is just a small market. You'd need to head to Canterlot or another big city if you wanted to buy it. I can't see why you'd want fish eggs though."

Sighing at the lack of one of his favourite foods, he trotted along with the others and requested a few of anything that he deemed pleasing. A few of the stall holders gave him curious, even fearful looks as he approached, but most seemed to forget he was there once Twilight approached. He didn't know if it was for safety, or because they were getting money, but he was somewhat glad she was there. He'd have nothing to eat otherwise.

After he had been around the market stalls, choosing various fruits, cheeses and breads from the various sellers and merchants, he asked Twilight for one last thing. There was one piece of food he demanded to have, and soon the quartet of animals found themselves heading over to the Apple's cart and stall.

"Howdy there Twilight, Rainbow! Hey Spike!" greeted Applejack.

Looking to the pirate, she scrunched her nose and looked behind her back. Turning back a moment later, she addressed Barbossa with a less than pleasing tone.

"Hector. What can I do ya for?"

Curious as to what she was looking at, Barbossa stood as high as he could and peered over her shoulder. Sitting on the ground behind the cart full of apples was the little yellow filly from the forest and the farm. Her head was down, and she looked up at him with wide eyes as she nudged herself along the ground to hide behind the older mare. She looked scared, but there was no crying, nor was their any sniffling, so he thought that it was as good a start than any.

"I'll be wantin' granny smiths. As many as Miss Sparkle will afford me."

"You...you want to spend the rest of your food money on apples? The same kind? There are lots of different ones."

"Aye, I _can_ see that, though they ain't me favourite."

Silently agreeing with the difficult alien, Twilight nodded and paid her bits. Applejack took them and tossed them into a pouch around her neck, but started talking while she filled the barrel.

"Are ya sure I can't interest y'all in some_ zap apple_ jam?" she said, tapping her hoof against a small wooden sign on the side of her apple cart.

Barbossa rolled his eyes, knowing full well she was trying to haggle him into buying more of her wares, before realising he had no idea what she was actually talking about.

"Zap apples?"

Applejack then moved around to a small crate at the back of the cart before prying of the lid, revealing three little jars, all of which had a rainbow coloured jelly resting inside them.

"And..." Barbossa struggled to say anything, picking one of the jars out of the large wooden box, "ye can actually eat this?"

"Yes. Tastes mighty fine too. Don't get apple jam like that anywhere else."

She was right. He didn't know what was more bizarre; that the striped, rainbow jam was actually from an apple, or that it was actually still striped, rather than a multicoloured mess. Though, he did like apples, and it was certainly something he wouldn't get to eat anywhere else. And it was technically free; he wasn't the one paying for it.

"How much?" he asked out of habit more than anything else.

Applejack looked towards Twilight before containing her smile, putting on a serious face before looking up at the pirate.

"Three bits a jar."

Bits?

"I gave ye me bits before. Ye said they weren't proper."

"They ain't, not 'round here."

Assuming his bits and their bits simply shared the same name, Barbossa groaned before deciding what to do about the jam.

"And how many smiths would I be gettin' with the jam?"

"Ye'd still get thirteen apples."

Seeing Twilight's eyes widen at the number, Barbossa nodded and motioned for her to add the jam to his stock pile. If he didn't like it, he still had the princess' order of meat to come in. And everything was free.

"You're carrying the barrel home." Twilight sighed, looking at the container and then to Barbossa.

Looking at the size, he wondered what the hassle was before realising it would be easier for him than it would be for a mammal with no hands. Then again, as long as he got some food, he would have carried it all back to the tree house on his own. No need to tell them that though.

"And what of ye, Applejack? Didn't fancy stayin' near the _scary_ pirate? Ye were pretty fast te leave after the princess did."

Frowning her brow and tipping her head forward, the farmer with the nice hat looked back at the small foal behind her before replying.

"I had to prepare for the market and buck some trees, seein' as _somepony_ decided ta bruise a barrel worth a' apples we were plannin' on sellin'."

"I'm not a pony."

"And then I had ta help ma sister cause y'all made her too frazzled ta stay home alone or come outside."

Once again looking down at the small pony, he nodded to himself before speaking back. The princess wanted him to repay those he harmed, and where better a place to start rebuilding his reputation than helping little children.

"Well how about we make an agreement of sorts. I need te keep me head clear for yer royal majesty, and yer surely wantin' payment fer me ruinin' yer stock and scarin' the child?"

"...I guess."

"Well, I'll be more than pleased te begin me recuperation by helpin' yer sister and the children from the forest."

"Y...y'all are gonna make it up to 'em? How exactly?"

"Does it matter? There must be somethin' of worth for me te offer them."

Looking towards Twilight with a worried look on her face, the purple unicorn simply shrugged, unsure of how to take what he just said. Rainbow did the same, somewhat unsure if he could help anypony at all. He just seemed to be acting...unnaturally kind.

"Well...the princess did tell him to help ponies," Twilight said, "And it is kind of nice that he wants to help the Crusaders first."

"There ye have it. It's nice of me te offer me services te them first."

Waving his hands towards the small filly, putting a faux smile on his face, Applejack looked back with uncertainty. Applebloom was now standing, looking towards the pirate rather than hiding under his shadow.

"What do ya say, Applebloom? You wanna let him apologise?"

Warily stepping out of her sisters protection, the small filly looked up towards her Applejack before directing her gaze at the pirate.

"If...if the others come...a-ah don't mind nothin'."

Twilight smiled.

"Don't worry. We wouldn't leave you alone with him. But the princess wants him to apologise to some ponies, so he'll be more than friendly, _right_ Hector?"

"Aye, on me best behaviour. Cross me heart and hope te die."

Crossing his fingers over his heart, he then raised a hand in the air. He didn't know if they'd get the gesture, but it seemed simple enough all the same. All he had to do was please the children. Then the others would think he was kind hearted, and it would be easier to help the rest of them. Especially Rarity. He'd need to seriously impress her somehow if he wanted anything from her.

However, upon arriving at her store, which was, very aptly, a dress makers, Rarity was just as displeased as Barbossa thought she would be.

"You want to leave Sweetie Belle alone with _him_?!"

Both sighing at her remark, the captain pinching his nose and Twilight releasing a held breath, the purple pony attempted to smooth out the ordeal.

"No, she wouldn't be alone with him. You can come too. It's only so he can make peace with them and start making it up to everypony else."

"You mean the ponies he has to help to avoid being thrown in a cell?" she dead panned back.

"Think what ye will, but yer surely not pleased wi' me actions. I'm simply tryin' te make amends for them."

Looking over her back towards a small door, and what Barbossa assumed was the little fillies present location, Rarity reluctantly nodded her head.

"All right, Fine. I said I'd give you one chance, and that's what you'll get. But ruin this, Mr Barbossa, and you can expect nothing more from me."

"If ye say so. But for now, we have an accord?"

"Yes. Twilight can arrange a time for everypony to meet. Until then, I hope every one of my friends has a very pleasant day. Maybe if you're lucky, somepony will wish you the same, Mr Barbossa?"

Not all that bothered by the mare's comment, the pirate raised an eyebrow as she wandered around to the back of the shop.

After Rarity had left the pony and human alone in the main room of the shop, Twilight and Barbossa left to rejoin the dragon and wheelchair-bound Rainbow outside. Today hadn't been a complete waste of time, but at least tomorrow he could get something done.

"Did you upset Rarity yet?"

Staring down at the pony in the wheelchair, Barbossa raised his hand casually in the air and mouthed with his fingers.

"Aye, as a matter o' fact," he announced rather proudly, "She seems te talk too much too"

Rainbow smiled and snorted in response.

"Yeah, tell me about it."

Briefly staring at each other for a time, Rainbow held herself back before letting a small, fleeting laugh escape her lips. Barbossa cracked a slight smile too, before he took hold of the apple barrel and gruffly hauled it along the road, trudging it back along side Twilight towards his temporary home.

"Tia Dalma!"

William wandered back across to the mystic's position on the beach, growing bored of their time spent on the shores of the damned.

"We've been here for an hour, and there's still no sign of Jack or Barbossa."

"And? You have a point to make?"

"Well...I thought we had to be gone by the setting of the sun. It's reaching mid-day."

"Time can go as fast as it pleases. Witty Jack will be here soon enough."

"And Barbossa? You still haven't told us where he is."

Will was growing impatient, as were most of the men around him. Tia Dalma had merely sat on a rock for the entirety of their stay, throwing her stones onto the ground and chanting to herself. Placing the ones she held into her dress, she turned her head to address the man complaining to her.

"He has been taken, if you really want to know."

Some of the other men began to crowd around, yearning for anything new to guide them. Or even entertain them.

"Taken by who? And to where? You said we would all reach the Locker one way or another."

She smiled, standing from her rock and walking out towards the young Englishmen. He promptly stepped back.

"That I did. And we do. Fate just doesn't account for worlds beyond our borders. Not even this one."

More of the men gathered around where Tia Dalma sat, and those who were already there listened with greater interest. Most of the Chinese sauntered off to the side, letting those who actually knew English listen instead.

"You mean another world besides our own and this one?"

"There be more to the living than us, William Turner. And there be more worlds than can be counted on any hand. Barbossa has merely taken a longer path to reach the Locker than the rest of us."

Pintel crawled forward, moving from his lying position on the sandy beach.

"Why?"

"I do not know. Fate has many things in store for many men. Perhaps Barbossa has a hand to give in a world beyond our own."

"Can we get him back?"

Will honestly felt bad for the man. Not that Barbossa hadn't caused him pain, but at the very least he had saved his life back at Singapore. Not only that, but he had been perfectly cordial during their voyage to the Locker, despite their past, although Will still found it hard to bear his personality.

Tia shook her head.

"I cannot say. But that is not my concern."

"Then what is?" he asked, growing tired of her riddles and poetic explanations.

Walking over to a piece of wood lying on the beach, she bent down and picked up a small stone that was laying on top, stroking it gently with her finger.

"If there is a way for Barbossa to traverse the worlds beyond what we know..."

Putting the stone down, she picked up a larger, dark rock and threw it with ease onto the piece of driftwood, Hitting it with a force, the wood splintered when the rock made contact, almost snapping in two.

"...what is stopping another creature from doing the same?"

**Authors Note:** Long time since the last update. Well, I thought so anyway, and if you thought so too, I apologise. But reality became exciting and annoying all at the same time, and as a result I had very little time to write. Although I would have gotten a new chapter out to you regardless, I enjoy writing this, so it was quite a shame.

Anyway, here's a descent sized chapter as a thank you, and if you're willing to wait, I promise the next one will be longer still. Thanks again to DannyJ and Pata-K for proofreading this too; they're awesome.


	11. A Pirate's Life for Me

**Chapter 11: A Pirate's Life for Me**

"Are you sure it's safe? I mean, he tried to _eat_ Sweetie Belle."

"I'm telling you the same thing I told your mother, Scootaloo; he didn't try and eat anypony. He's been staying at my house for two whole days now, and he hasn't once tried to eat me. He wants to apologise for what he did too."

Taking the third member of the Cutie Mark Crusaders to her library, Twilight smiled as she saw the other two already outside, waiting, along with their sisters.

Scootaloo had come alone. Not having any siblings or a father around made it difficult for her mother to get away from obligations. But in Rufflefeather's defence, she did seem to care an awful lot for her only daughter. In any case, Twilight had assured her that nothing would befall the little orange filly.

"Are you guys ready?"

Twilight had made sure prior to bringing them that the foals still wanted to go through with the ordeal. She'd also made sure to have Applejack and Rarity present, as well as Spike and herself, should anything go wrong. She doubted anything important or dangerous would happen, but it was better to reassure the Crusaders.

"Are y'all sure ya took away his sword?"

"Yes, we are. He can't get it where I've put it," Twilight insisted with a smile, "and he isn't going to hurt you either. I can promise you that much."

Looking up at the adults and nodding their heads, the three fillies waited, standing back as Twilight opened the front door. Slowly peering inside, they looked around, nervously shifting their heads from side to side until they saw the beast of Everfree at the back of the library, sat hunched over a book with his elbows resting against his knees.

He was reading a large, red book, barely looking up as everypony wandered inside. Nudging Applebloom forward with a friendly hoof, Applejack gently moved her sister towards the captain, having somewhat higher hopes in him since he'd decided to try the jam.

"Um...uh, hello?" the little yellow pony squeaked, still staying close to her sister.

Snapping his neck up from the book, Barbossa slammed it shut with one hand and tossed it to the side, leaving it amongst several others he had stored in a small pile next to where he sat. He got to his feet, and stood on the spot with his hands buried within in his pockets.

"Hello," he said, scrunching his eyes and tilting his head back.

"Um..." Applebloom uttered before looking back at her sister for support, "Hello. What's...your name?"

"Captain Hector Barbossa."

It was getting tiresome introducing himself to so every new creature that he happened to meet, which at this point amounted to a whole town. He was likely more well known in this world than he was in his own. But he always made sure to add captain. He liked being properly titled.

"And what about the lot of ye? What're yer names?"

Trying once again to sound child friendly, this time under better circumstances, he smiled at the children and waved towards them. They retreated, almost as if forced back by the power of his hand alone. Stepping in, Twilight introduced them herself.

"This is Applebloom, and this is Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle," she said smiling, ushering to each of the foals in turn.

While he had slowly gotten used to the ridiculous names the ponies always seemed to have, the orange one's still sounded rather bizarre.

"Right..." the pirate said, clapping his hands together, "What shall we be doin' then?"

Twilight happily clopped forward, levitating an unrolled parchment towards the pirate from a wooden table.

"Well, I looked in to the Hay Day of Pony Piracy, and found some things you could do with the foals that we think they might enjoy."

"The Hay Day...of Pony Piracy?" the captain asked back, dubious as to whether she was actually being serious.

Twilight narrowed her eyes at Barbossa; he had a way of pulling their conversations off-topic. Then again, these moments were when she learned the most about him.

"It's a time in history when we still had pirates. Oh, what do you call your time in history?"

"The fourteenth day of August, 1742. Last time_ I_ was there."

"No name?" Twilight questioned, curiously blinking her eyes.

He scratched his beard.

"The Modern Age, though I prefer the Golden Age of Piracy. Leaves a lot less te the imagination."

Twilight let a small grin form on her face as she hurriedly scratched away at another piece of paper with a quill. It was almost like his world copied hers. Everything more or less had an equivalent where he came from; it was as if his world was based on her own. It was remarkable; so many similarities, yet so many differences. Perhaps even ponies had equivalents too.

Mentally locking the thoughts away for another time, Twilight smiled back up at the pirate before floating the sheet of paper into one of his hands. He grasped it within his fingers and swayed his eyes back and forth across its contents.

"All o' this?"

"No, just anything that works; I don't really know what you've done with your life, so I just suggested anything that sounded interesting."

The list was a little sparse, but Twilight had suggested things she would liked to have known about pirates as a child; adventures on the seas, hearing how they lived, what his crew was like, and even any legends he had heard. The list would likely benefit her more than the Crusaders, but they still liked to hear stories. And if Hector was anything like the pirates from her world, he would have at least one thing going for him that they thought was interesting.

"And yer sure this'll give me redemption fer scarin' em?" he asked, "They don't seem too pleased te be here in the first place."

"But once you tell them stories and stuff, I'm sure they'll come around."

"Ye say that when ye and yer own friends have yet to be brought 'round yerselves; it's a none too compellin' argument, Miss Sparkle."

"All I'm saying is give it a try," she sighed, "I know it's been hard. It has been for all of us, but you have to start your reconciliation somewhere."

That was precisely his thinking on the matter, but that didn't stop him having a lack of experience with children. He could handle them well enough, feed them, give them something to do, but that was about it.

"I suppose."

He wasn't going to get anywhere acting all high and mighty either; he may as well be nice and get the event over with. They were just children, and small ones at that. If all he had to do was make them happy, then he may as well make a good attempt at it. He couldn't see himself being thrown in prison should he fail to make them smile either, so if worst came to worst, he'd try and reconcile with someone else instead.

It also meant he had some leeway in how he dealt with them.

Rubbing the back of his head under his hat, he turned to face the three fillies, all of which flinched a little when he did. Feeling somewhat unsure of how to begin his approach, he chose the first thing written on Twilight's list. It wasn't too hard a task, seeing as it wasn't really a task at all.

"How about a story fer the little ones?"

He wasn't adverse to telling stories; he had enough to his name, some of which could be considered legendary. But telling them to an audience that was actually judging him was none to comforting. That didn't mean he couldn't give it his all.

"What kind of story?" Scootaloo wearily asked.

"Stories of the high seas, little orange pony. Tales of monsters roamin' the waters uncharted, and men losin' their lives beneath the power o' those monsters."

Whilst Twilight and Applebloom stood there with smiles creeping onto their faces, Scootaloo and Rarity scoffed and clicked their teeth.

"I just bet you were one of the monsters," Scootaloo said sitting on the floor, resting her head against a free hoof.

"No," he said, letting a dark smile scratch its way on to his face as he loomed closer to the ponies, "I were the one that died."

The foals slowly nudged themselves back at his words, but they didn't look actively scared. Barbossa knew how to make a story exciting, or at least he liked to think he did. And telling a story to the ponies about the man in front of them seemed far better than telling one of the others he happened to know. It'd seem more interesting, more impressive, and if all worked out, they'd find him as 'cool' as the little colt in town found him.

Crookedly smiling, he clicked his knuckles and shoulders before pulling a small wooden stool from his side. He'd seen teachers sitting on chairs when teaching children, and as all present were well below his height, it seemed like an appropriate way to tell his story. So he sat down, moving himself around until he was comfortable in the undersized chair.

"The tale begins, little ponies, with a stone chest. A stone chest left on an island of the dead, which couldn't be found, 'cept by those who had a way of knowin' where it was; Isla de Muerta."

Looking around to judge interest, apart from the unimpressed glances of Rarity and Scootaloo, he had the attention of every being present. The farmer with the nice hat and the dragon had even joined the foals on the floor in front of him.

"And within' the stone chest, on the island that couldn't be found, were eight hundred and eighty two identical gold pieces, delivered to the blackened hands of Cortés himself. Blood money paid te stem the slaughter he reaped upon the land with his armies."

"Who's Cortés?"

The pirate looked down at Sweetie Belle, who, despite asking the question, still shook under his glare. He'd almost forgot the beings listening had no knowledge of basic history. His basic history, anyway.

"The feared ruler of Spain."

"Spain?"

Sighing at Applebloom's question, he shook his right hand towards Twilight before pointing towards the children. It had also escaped him they didn't know where he was from. Allowing her a few moments to catch on, the purple unicorn finally nodded at him. She'd have a better chance convincing them than he would.

"I know this is hard to believe, but Hector's from another world. He fell into Everfree from the sky the day you met him for the first time. Which he is _very _sorry for, right?" she asked as she glared at him.

"Aye, of _course_," he cockily answered, bowing to those in front of him.

"And he's stuck here until the princess can find him a way home. She asked him to be nice and apologise to anypony he hurt, and he chose to start with you three."

Applebloom and Sweetie Belle looked to their sisters, none too sure if they were right to believe Twilight. Scootaloo just sat there, still none too excited to be where she was, and seemingly not bothered by what she had just been told.

"He _should_ be sorry after what he did to Sweetie," Scootaloo said.

"And if ye'll let me finish me story, I'll be on me way te gettin' there!"

Scowling at the small pony for, what he hoped, would be the last time, he continued with his story. He surmised there would be the odd the question about what he said, as it was, sadly, natural. But if he kept the story as simple as possible, then hopefully none would actually arise.

"But his greed were insatiable, neverendin'. And the heathen gods of our land, angered by his lust for gold, placed upon the treasure a _terrible_ curse; any mortal who took but a single piece from the stone chest, would be punished. For _eternity_."

Nonchalantly waving his hand in the air, he closed his eyes and leaned an elbow against his knee, bending down towards the ponies below him.

"But I didn't believe in childish ghost stories, and neither did the rest o' me crew. So we sought them out. We found the island that couldn't be found, and we found the gold. And we took it all!" he exclaimed, angrily gasping out with his free hand.

Applebloom and Spike flinched back, nudging back forward with smiles spreading across their faces.

"Every last one; all eight hundred and eighty two pieces. And squander 'em away we did, spendin' 'em on food, drink, and the most pleasurable of company."

He paused, seeing Twilight jerking her head from side to side with her eyes wide and her mouth tightly shut. Realising what she was getting at, he looked towards the children, all three of which seemed nary the wiser about the explicit comment he had made. Applejack and Rarity did seem aware, glaring at him with their brows furrowed. Spike seemed to notice too, though he scrunched his eyes and shook his head.

At least Barbossa knew they still had sex in this world, though he wouldn't have been surprised to find out that they didn't. Nothing else seemed to comply to his sense of reality.

"Compelled by greed we were, and before we realised, the curse we had so carelessly cast aside had already took it's terrible toll; food turned te ash in our mouths, and the drink did never satisfy. And we could not feel the wind against our faces, nor the touch of another's skin against our own."

He reached into his pocket, pulling out a pouch holding something he'd kept that no other man could. Opening it, he pulled out a single golden coin. One side was engraved with the image of a smiling skull, jagged patterns surrounding it on all side, while the other had an ancient, archaic symbol, one which Barbossa still didn't know the meaning off.

Flipping it into the air with his thumb, he caught it and tossed it into the crowd of ponies at his feet. The children and older sisters dodged it, treating it like a disease as it twirled and spun on the floor. Once the doubloon had ceased it's movements, landing with the skull face up, Twilight peered over from where where she sat, gingerly moving her hooves towards it.

"Can I touch it?"

"D' ye dare?" Barbossa answered, still smiling to himself.

Twilight pulled her hoof back slightly before quickly reaching in and snatching it from the floor. She scrunched up her eyes before quickly touching Applejack in the stomach. Opening her eyes and before doing so again, she stared at the coin before dejectedly looking back up to Barbossa.

"It doesn't work."

"We were cursed men, Miss Sparkle. And te remove the curse, each coin had te be returned te it's rightful place in the chest, all eight hundred and eighty two of 'em, with the blood of each man repaid, in earnest, te account for the sin o' stealin' the gold in the first place."

He sat there holding his hand in front of his face, slowly spinning it around from his wrist. He simply stared at it, a frown and tired expression unconsciously present on his face.

"We were immortal men, and with the immortality came the great cost. We'd starve to death, but never die, we'd be parched of thirst and unable to quench it, and we were unable to feel even the spray of the sea against our skin."

"You were...immortal? Wouldn't everypony have liked you for that?" she said, before realising her faux pa, "I mean...everyhuman?"

The question came once again from Twilight, who still had the coin resting on her hoof. Looking at the gold, she flipped around between her forehooves and passed it to the little fillies on the floor, all three of which didn't bother touching it. Spike chose to take it in both his claws instead, holding it between four of his fingers as he stared at the skull on the front.

"Adore us?"

Barbossa bitterly laughed, getting to his feet before walking towards the purple mare.

"Why would they _adore_ us? We were men, sure, and we could walk amongst the livin', but in the moonlight, we were revealed for what we truly were. Our skin would rot away, and our bones became bare for the world te see. We became legends; ghost stories of our own. Our ship was feared, and our presence even more so, and the feelings we lacked became our only idea of heaven."

Twilight readied to rebut his response, but he continued regardless. She really wanted to ask him about his immortality.

"We searched for each o' the coins. Every last one, but by then it were already too late. We'd become greedy and tired, somethin' men on a ship should be wary enough to avoid becomin'. We fought. We tried te end it ourselves, but while the pain was never felt, our wounds always healed. Heads would live beyond their necks, and limbs would move beyond their bodies. Not even bruises or cuts could lay upon our skin."

Letting a frown once again linger on his face, he shook his head, letting the dark grin he had previously worn squirm it's way back on to his lips.

"We'd even sent a man overboard. But that was our biggest mistake, and we surely repented for it. His blood could not be repaid, nor could his coin be returned te the chest. We were at a loss, and forced te sail the seas forever, undying, but long dead on the inside."

The coin had since been taken up by Applejack, who flipped it around on the floor, never actually picking it up. Applebloom stared on from the side, following it around with her eyes.

"Then how come ye ain't all undeadly now?" Applejack asked, still playing with the gold.

The ponies had more questions, but most didn't care to ask. The younger ones never realised the serious nature of his more unfriendly comments, and the older mares found it somewhat interesting to listen too. Twilight even more so, who had once again took up writing down what Barbossa said on scraps of paper.

"He had a son, William, and not only did he have his fathers blood flowin' through his veins, but he also had the coin we so desperately needed. But we knew not where he was, or even that he were a boy te begin with."

Barbossa stopped the pain from the past coming back this time, holding his smile and staring into his hand as he curled and uncurled his fingers.

"But through trial, and through fate, and through consequence, we found his coin. And we repaid his blood..."

"That's horrible. You killed a pirate's son for what his father did?!"

Another negative response from Rarity wasn't something he had wanted, but it was surprising she'd accepted everything else he'd said thus far. He hardly thought killing Will was any worse a crime than killing his father. Though Barbossa had the knowledge and hindsight to know what Bootstrap had actually been through, and the man deserved at least a small ounce of respect.

"He were a boy when Bill went over, but he _weren't_ a boy when we found 'im. We had to wait ten, whole, bloody years until the day we found William, and ye can't disagree our reasonin's weren't reasonable ones."

"But that stil-"

"And he were kind enough to forgive me too. He were even on me crew before I arrived here, so if ye think I've got nary a kind bone in me body, I'll kindly ask ye te keep yer opinions te yersel'. There are many worse men than I, Miss Rarity, and I assure ye, I'm actin' nicer than any other I know would, given what I've had te got through over the last four days."

Clearing his throat, and sitting back in the undersized chair, he hoped that would be the last interruption, seeing as he had barely anything left of his story to tell.

"But we had picked up enemies, as I'm sure ye'll _happily_ decide we deserved. We went te lengths beyond comfort te retrieve those coins, and there were men that sought revenge for those lengths, young William included."

He once again curtly laughed, clenching his fists against the ends of his jacket.

"And I were confident. Something ye can afford te be if yer undying in a world full of killers. But I fell te that confidence. I fought those who wanted my hide, and did so livin' up te me good name. But I were immortal, and I were none to bothered by the wounds I had received."

He sat back, clenching his heart and scrunching his shirt with his right hand, contorting his face into a expression of pain.

"Then William returned his blood, on his _own accord_, and in doing so, lifted the curse. But a hole lay in my heart, and rather than the warmth of my body, or taste of the sea, I felt my blood run cold. My body drained, and my view dimmed black as I died. Feelin' only the chill of death as the feelin' I spent so many years desperately seekin'"

Barbossa sat back in his chair, this time crossing his arms over his chest, rather proud of the story he had just told.

The ponies on the floor didn't seem to completely agree. While Spike, Applejack and Applebloom smiled and widened their eyes at his ending, the others sat there, letting their brows raise and faces contort. Twilight had even stopped writing.

"You died? As in, going to the great pasture in the skies, died?" she said.

"Aye."

Twilight just looked to her friends.

"Then how are you here? Did someone save you from," she said as she checked her notes, "Davy Jones' Locker?"

Rather infuriated they didn't believe one of the single most tale worthy things that had befell him, Barbossa stood up, waving his hands in the air as he spoke.

"What? No! I _died_! I were brought back by a goddess, Calypso, te sail the waters of the damned te find _Jack _in the Locker. Ye don't just go te the Locker; there be rules."

"There are rules to get to the land of the dead?"

Ponies didn't have rules, Twilight thought. She assumed you just sort of...went there.

"Of course there are rules. Only those who die at sea and refuse the pardon of Davy Jones' are deemed sinful enough te be sent te Jones' Locker, and I didn't die at sea."

"So theoretically, you could bring anyone back from the dead, as long as they die on land?"

"I...I don't know! I were the one that was brought back, not the one chantin' the incantation. And I'm not one te look a gift horse in the mouth, 'specially when it involves me not bein' _dead_!"

"I suppose," Twilight murmured, "but why couldn't Calypso just bring Jack back the same way she brought you back?"

She was starting to sound like Pintel. God forbid he had to think of him while he was here; he had enough problems without him or Ragetti getting in the way. Ragetti and his eye was the only reason Barbossa put up with the overweight oaf in the first place. Though, he did prove one of the most loyal during those ten, long years, so he had something good going for him.

"Jack's body and soul were taken te the Locker, I were simply dead. Ye can't bring somethin' back when there ain't nothin' left begin wi'."

The elder sisters and the fillies just sat there while Twilight and the pirate captain bickered about details. Sweetie and Scootaloo looked at the two arguing, slightly confused. Was that the end of the story? Had he finished?

"Is that your story finished?" Sweetie Belle ask, "It just...sort of ended."

Barbossa turn to the little fillies sitting on the floor, ignoring the curious Twilight Sparkle as she continued to identify holes in his story.

"Of course it bloody well ended; I _died_! There ain't nothin' te tell when nothin' were goin' on from me own point o' view!"

He couldn't believe this. Not only didn't they rightly believe him, they were mocking him! How was he supposed to make his death more exciting? He certainly didn't know what happened afterwards, but whatever it was couldn't have been that fascinating.

"And if you couldn't take coins from the chest, then how come you have one? Shouldn't you still be all undead and stuff," mocked Scootaloo.

"I didn't take it; me monkey did."

Scootaloo just rolled her eyes.

"You're just adding in characters now. I bet you carry it around just to tell this story."

Flexing his fingers and tightly clenching his fists, he desperately repressed every natural urge his body was creating. As much as he wanted to wring out her little, orange neck, he knew full well that would be the stupidest thing he could do.

"I can check."

Surprised at Twilight's sudden suggestion, Barbossa unclenched he fists before smiling and turning towards her.

"Ye can do that?"

"Well, yes. If there is actually a spell on the coin, I could vouch for you."

Rather pleased such a thing could be done, he smiled and waved his hand towards the purple mare, rather pleased to have her around for once.

"Be me guest."

Curious about the answer Twilight would bring, not just Scootaloo, but the rest of the room crowded around her. Needless to say, his story didn't sound completely true, as interesting as the majority of it was.

Slightly taken back at everyone crowding around her, Twilight nodded at the group and levitated the coin into the air, and like everything else she interacted with, it glowed with a vibrant purple hue. Closing her eyes to concentrate, Twilight focused solely on the coin, not even allowing it to move an inch from where it floated.

She began to squirm, shuffling her hooves as the doubloon continued to float there. Then her breathing wavered. The coin began to spin on its axis, starting in a slow rotation before progressing to a rapid blur, creating an orb of dulled gold between the aura of violet Twilight had summoned. It was hard. Harder than she thought it'd be; it was just a coin, after all.

But Twilight didn't want to stop. She could do this; she'd worked her magic on things a thousand, perhaps even a million times its size, and she wasn't going to give up so easily.

And she couldn't.

The coin still spun there, creating a whistle as it continued to rotate faster and faster. She couldn't stop. It was floating on it's own, spinning in quick succession. And it wouldn't let go.

"I can't stop," she cried, shaking on her hooves and wavering her step, "It won't stop."

Her eyes wouldn't open either. She didn't even want to open them.

Barbossa stood there, surprised himself that he was actually worried about what going on. But despite his thoughts, he merely stood there, awkwardly opening and closing his mouth while shrugging his shoulders. The others didn't look as calm; the fillies were nervously jumping around and the adults were unsure of what to do.

"Can _somepony_ do something?!" she squealed, sounding more irritated than worried, despite her situation.

Looking between the frantic purple mare and her friends, the captain sighed before flexing his wrist. Reaching out to grab the coin, he painfully recoiled his hand as the golden item crashed into his fingers. He fell back, clutching his pained hand with the other.

"Ye _bastard_ bloody coin!"

Watching the older creatures present attempt the same act of valour, he inwardly seethed at how stupid an idea it was. He also wondered why the horses chose to copy him when he had obviously hurt himself in the process.

Looking back at the purple mare, Barbossa's eyes widened as she flinched back. Her coat was rotten and greyed, worn by the passing of time. Her stomach was torn, and inside he could see her ribcage rearing it's way from her body, and the stillness of her organs as they dangled in place. Her skull was showing, as were parts of her eyes, despite the lids being tightly shut. Her teeth could be seen too, cracked and connected with her skull at the base of her mouth as her tongue spasmed and moved inside.

Watching as the foals began inching themselves away from Twilight, and the white unicorn fruitlessly attempted to help her purple friend, the captain panicked at what was happening; he was sure they would declare this his fault. Looking around for anything to help the situation, he briefly widened his eyes as he grabbed the stool he had been previously sitting on, backing up before slamming it into the air where the coin spun.

Falling forward as the stool made contact, Barbossa shut his eyes as the spinning coin shattered the edge of the seat, splintering the wood and getting dragged down with what was left. Opening his eyes, the pirate blinked at the mess on the floor, as well as the now normal Twilight.

Releasing his breath, he pushed aside the stool and went for the coin, moving his hand back as he felt the heat emanating from it. Pulling his jacket forward, the used his cuff to pick up the doubloon and feebly toss it from hand to hand, childishly blowing at it and eventually putting it into one of his many pockets.

Twilight was now dizzily standing on all four hooves, leaning against her unicorn friend for balance. Shaking her head from side to side, she opened her eyes to see everyone nervously looking towards her.

"W-what's wrong...you guys?"

They all looked at her with troubled eyes, the pirate included, albeit with a less sentimental reason for doing so.

"Are y'all okay Twilight?!"

She took a few moments to steady herself before answering Applejack's question.

"I...I think so. That was...new. And weird; the coin just wouldn't let go."

"Didn't it hurt?" Scootaloo asked.

"I don't think so; it just kind of kept pulling. I think that's the word for it. There's definitely something on that coin anyway. I don't think I'll be doing anything else to it though."

"What about your coat Twilight? Did that hurt? It looked simply _awful_!" Rarity dramatically asked, waving a hoof in the air.

Twilight just looked back, raising an eyebrow at Rarity. Wobbling on her hooves, she sat herself on the floor before letting out a comfortable sigh.

"What do you mean?" she said before gasping, "Did I knock something over?"

Looking over herself, Twilight titled her head to her right and left, giving her coat and mane a once over. Rarity then looked at the pirate, angrily unsure of how to respond. He once again shrugged his shoulders.

"She means yer coat, Twi! We could see your insides and everythin'," Applejack worriedly yelled.

Widening her eyes, she once again looked over coat, standing this time, putting her head in line with her belly and tail as well. She looked back towards her friends and the foals standing in front of her.

"My insides? Like bones and organs?"

Nodding rapidly, everyone in the room, bar the pirate, had a panicked look on their faces. Wandering off to the back of the room, Barbossa ushered Spike to follow him before disappearing through a door with the baby dragon in tow. Applebloom wandered up to the purple unicorn before hugging her leg.

"It were terrible, Twilight. You were all boney and skeleton-y and we could see yer skull and yer eyeball and yer insidey bits!"

"Like a zombie!" Sweetie Belle yelled.

"...or Hector in his story, " whispered Twilight.

Looking around the room, she nervously searched for the pirate in question, only to hear him clanking and clinking things around in the kitchen. With the rest of her friends also looking towards the sounds, everypony bar Twilight furrowed their brows as he wandered out with an apple and a glass filled with a bright, orange liquid in his hands. Spike came out soon after, walking up to Twilight before doing anything else.

"What have you done to Twilight!"

That was what Barbossa assumed they were all yelling at him. He couldn't exactly tell. Each was yelling something different. The orange pegasus even waltzed up to him, attempting a growl and an intimidating glare, going as far as to bare her teeth at him.

Rather than answer their queries and complaints, he simply motioned in the air for the to shut up, apple still in hand. Twilight just sat there, looking over her hooves and forelegs, while the others were still yelling despite his request.

The younger ones and Applejack looked more upset and worried than angry, but he saw that Rarity and Scootaloo, at least, had malice in their eyes. Although, for once, he actually sympathised with them. Not very much though.

Walking up to Twilight, Barbossa knelt on one knee and forced the apple into her mouth, before pouring a small portion of the glass over Twilights snout. Standing up and drinking the rest of the liquid, contently sighing at it's flavour, he put the glass on a nearby table and crossed his arms.

Letting their mouths hang open, looking at the now less than dignified Twilight, the ponies once again started to argue, before the purple mare bit a chunk out of the apple, letting the rest fall to the floor.

"What was that for!"

"What were what for?" he calmly said, not changing his expression.

"Pouring pineapple juice on me! And putting an apple in my mouth!"

"Believe it or not, that were an act of kindness on me own part. How did ye know it were pineapple juice?"

Twilight angrily moved towards him before realising what he was getting at. She looked toward her friends, but apart from Applebloom and Spike, no one seemed to let the words click into place.

"I could taste it."

"Aye, ye could taste it. And by that logic, ye could swallow the apple and feel the juice on yer muzzle too."

"...Yes."

"Therefore, yer not a cursed unicorn. Now ye can call off yer angry friends and tell yer princess I solved me own problem, even though I weren't technically the one who initiated the procedure in the first place."

He spoke with an air of sarcasm, and walking back to where his stool used to be, he picked up the list Twilight had gave him up from the floor.

Still looking at the pirate, Twilight repeated what she had done before and poked Applejack in the side, rubbing her belly slightly. Smiling and tapping her hooves on the floor, she let her horn shine as she removed the rest of the juice from her face.

"Are you okay then?" asked Sweetie Belle.

"Oh yes, I'm fine," Twilight said as she once again smiled, "but I think I'll refrain from casting spells on that coin. At least we know Hector's story is more than likely true now."

"But didn't you see what he did to you?"

"I was the one that offered to do that, and we can't really blame him for what happened. It's his coin, but I doubt he knew that would happen to me. And besides, I think I'm fine." she beamed, shaking her flank for emphasis.

"Can I get on wi' doin' me things now? I'd rather not be ruinin' anythin' else."

He asked mockingly, but he was somewhat curious if he actually could. All in all, almost cursing the creature taking care of him wasn't a high point of the day, seeing as he was meant to be apologising to the foals. He'd almost made them burst into tears too, which would have done less than nothing to help his situation.

Twilight looked at the fillies once again. They weren't really getting the best impression of the pirate. He didn't really have a good one going for him, but at the very least he was decent minded. Decent minded as far as pirates went anyway.

"It's up to you three. I know he seems scary, and I know the things you've seen haven't been up to scratch, but they weren't his fault. Mostly. He's just a little different."

Applebloom and Sweetie Belle looked at their sisters for guidance, but Scootaloo just grumbled and sat on her haunches, crossing her forehooves against her chest.

"If y'all are wantin' ta go, we'll understand, Applebloom. But I do have ta agree with Twilight; he ain't completely a bad pony. Thing. And it were an accident."

With Applebloom somewhat unsure of how to act, Sweetie Belle waited for her sister's response too. But Rarity didn't seem as forgiving as her farming friend.

"I said one chance, Twilight."

"But he hasn't wasted it yet. Come on, Rarity; you know what just happened wasn't completely his fault. We didn't believe his story, and I was the one who offered to test his coin after all."

Looking around he room, judging everypony else's responses to form her own, Rarity noticed that most seemed to agree with Twilight. Spike and Barbossa merely looked back at her and shook their heads, trying their best not to get involved.

"I'm only looking out for Sweetie Belle."

"I know you are, and he wants to make it up to her for what he did. I know what just happened must have been...less than nice to look at, but it was still an accident."

Mulling over Twilight's words, the white unicorn turned to face her sister.

"It's up to you, Sweetie. What would you rather do?"

The filly in question just looked from her sister towards her two friends. While Scootaloo seemed less than excited, Sweetie knew she'd likely stay, even if just to prove that she was brave enough to do so. Applebloom didn't seem so sure though.

"I'll stay if Scootaloo and Applebloom stay," was her response.

"And I'll stay if Sweetie and Scootaloo stay."

Nodding at each other and smiling, everyone present turned back to the pirate. Knowing he had a lot to make up for, Barbossa looked over the list for something easy. Apparently trying to look adventurous and 'cool' wasn't going to work, and there was only one other thing on the list he knew he'd be able to do. He would have preferred a drink or five before doing it though.

Letting out a sigh, hoping this activity would go better than the last, he took a deep breath before calmly talking to the others.

"How about a shanty?"

He knew plenty, and children from his world sang them all the time. Elizabeth had told him on one occasion she sang a few of them as a child, so if children from noble families sang them, he couldn't really mess this up.

"A shanty?" Applebloom asked.

"They're songs sailors and pirates used to sing at sea."

Listening to Twilight's definition, Sweetie let a smile creep on to her face. Scootaloo hung her head, letting a grumbled sigh escape her lips before once again resting her head on her front right hoof.

"Singing songs?" Sweetie Belle beamed happily.

This was looking good, the pirate thought. The orange one didn't seem interested, but the other two looked quite pleased, Sweetie Belle even more so.

"Aye, songs. Is that acceptable enough?" he asked Twilight, although someone else answered instead.

"Yes, that's fine. What are you going to sing?"

He guessed Sweetie enjoyed singing, so he had at least one happy pony within his grasp. Still wishing he was less than sober, Barbossa nodded and paused to think. He needed one he knew all the words to. Or enough to get by, at least. Believing he was sorted, the captain cleared his throat and readied himself, sitting himself down on the wooden floor in front of the ponies.

He was going to regret this one way or another, but he wanted to stay free. While it wasn't a one way trip to a cell if he failed, the choice between work, prison, or singing wasn't a hard one.

"Fifteen men on a dead man's chest. Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum."

He tapped on the floor with his hands to get some form of beat going, although he was hardly the most musically minded person. He could play the violin, but it had been a good twenty years since he last properly picked one up. He was low ranking when he had learned, and any skill you had made you one skill more valuable than the next man. He doubted the ponies even had many instruments though.

"Drink and the devil had done for the rest. Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum."

As interested as Sweetie seemed, no one else looked that into his charming rendition of the song. Twilight was beginning to make faces too.

"The mate was fixed by the bosun's pike. The bosun brained with a marlinspike. And cookey's throat was marked belike. It had been gripped by...fingers...ten?"

Twilight had began shaking her head, with the same expression she had during the story present on her face. Rarity was also gasping at him as well, scrunching her nose in clear displeasure. Twilight then walked up to him before whispering into his ear, an act which he obliged by lowering his head.

"Could you perhaps choose a song not about killing things? Something more foal friendly, perhaps?"

"Children sing this song. I've heard 'em."

"Well, we don't teach little colts and fillies to harm chefs and wield weapons. Could you please sing something else?"

Nodding his head, Twilight went back to her position next to Rarity as he thought of something else to sing. Sadly thinking of Jack and his drunken escapades on the Pearl, he cleared is throat and started again.

"Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me. We pillage and plunder, we rifle and loot. Drink up me 'earties, yo ho. We kidnap and ravage and don't give a hoot. Drink up me 'earties, yo-"

Twilight was once again shaking her head. This just wasn't fair.

"Oh _come on_ now! Children from well off families even sing this. _Nobles_ sing this song at parties!"

Twilight walked back up to him to whisper his ear again. He didn't bother lowering himself to hear this time, however.

"Normally I wouldn't mind, but you've annoyed Rarity enough as it is. Don't you have anything that isn't about hurting and stealing?"

"Listen, that song is child friendly. How child friendly de ye want te be!"

"Does it get any better?" she asked.

"There's a line about still being loved by our mummies and daddies, how's that for ye?"

"And how many lines don't have something that nice in it?"

"The rest o' them."

Twilight clicked her teeth before looking at a wide eyed Sweetie Belle. Despite the cute nature of her glare, Twilight still knew it meant the filly wanted her to stop bothering the thing teaching her a song.

"Look, just think of one more, and if that doesn't work, you can sing this one."

Moving to walk away, she suddenly turned back around to face the pirate, this time not bothering to whisper.

"Oh, but later on, could you write some of the ones you didn't sing down on paper? I mean, being able to get songs from another world doesn't happen to me every day."

Guessing he would be forced to do so anyway, he reluctantly nodded before letting her sit down. This was getting tedious now. Already having chose the next song, he once again began a beat on the floor. It was a simple, quick four beat rhythm, but it worked on ships, so he couldn't see why it wouldn't on the wooden floor of the library. He was also lucky this song's verses could be switched out to suit the occasion.

"What'll we do with a drunken sailor, what'll we do with a drunken sailor, what'll we do with a drunken sailor, earl-aye in the mornin'?"

The ponies stared back at him, Applejack even looking as if she were attempting to answer. Rolling his eyes, he clapped his hands to get their attention once again. Twilight hadn't raised an objection, so he mused this was likely the song he'd be finishing with.

"Way hay and up she rises, way hay and up she rises, way hay and up she rises, earl-aye in the morning. Sling him in the long boat till he's sober, sling him in the long boat till he's sober, sling him in the long boat till he's sober, earl-aye in the mornin'"

Pointing at the children, hoping that getting them to sing instead would not only get them involved, but also allow him to be less so, he motioned his other hand in circles, mouthing the first two words he wanted them to sing.

Catching motion of him, Applebloom and Sweetie began to sing the first lines he had, or Sweetie Belle did anyway; Applebloom broke momentum by missing certain words and giving them her own awkward accent.

"Way hay and up she rises, way hay and up she rises, way hay and up she rises, early in the morning!"

Rather proud of himself, and apparently out of the heat with the older mares, he continued going through some of the more 'foal friendly' verses he remembered. He could easily make it up if he wanted to though. His rhythm had since gone though, with the beat now matching the words of the song as he unconsciously lost track of the beat he had actually attempted.

"Give 'im a dose of salt and water, give 'im a dose of salt and water, give 'im a dose of salt and water, earl-aye in the mornin'."

The children once again sang the chorus, with Scootaloo, Spike and Twilight joining in with the other two. He enjoyed singing while he was drunk, but he had to admit a song or two always kept morale high, and besides the rainbow jam, it was one of the better things he'd had the pleasure to enjoy since arriving.

"Way hay and up she rises, way hay and up she rises, way hay and up she rises, early in the morning!"

"Shave his belly with a rusty razor, shave his belly with a rusty razor, shave his belly with a rusty razor, earl-aye in the mornin'."

"Way hay and up she rises, way hay and up she rises, way hay and up she rises, early in the morning," his audience sang, with Applejack joining her sister and the others.

Beginning to become somewhat bored of the song, despite the brief mode of entertainment it had offered, he pointed to Sweetie Belle, wanting her to continue, seeing as she was the most eager. She looked at him before shaking her head and shrugging her shoulders.

"Just make a verse up," he advised.

It wasn't like they'd want to hear much more of the ones he knew anyway. If they didn't like him implying he slept around, they wouldn't want the foals singing about it.

As he awkwardly kept hitting has palms on the floor, it was a few seconds more before the small unicorn started her own verse.

"Make him...take...down all of winter...make him take down all of winter, make him take down all of winter, early in the morning!" she happily sang, hopping from one hoof to another.

The others once again sang the chorus, the captain rather sneakily joining in. He may as well let her sing the other lines anyway, seeing as she was having more fun with it than he was. He was meant to make them happy for the princess, so surely this was more in line with what she wanted.

She also sang the song more up beat and up tempo than he had, making it seem less piratey and more...he didn't know what to call it. Her voice echoed and went from deep to high, despite keeping a definitely female ring to it. He merely saw it best to watch his free performance.

"Make him stand still in the gardens, make him stand still in the gardens, make him stand still in the gardens, early in the morning!"

"Way hay and up she rises, way hay and up she rises, way hay and up she rises, early in the morning."

Once again, everyone sang the chorus, with Rarity also finally joining in. Barbossa didn't get what the verses were about, but the ponies and dragon seemed to get them just fine. Maybe if he remembered, he'd ask Twilight later on, but he guessed they were more symbolic than his punishments were.

The others had also taken over his duty of tapping a rhythm, with the other two children, Twilight and Spike tapping beats on the floor. Of course, you could only really hear the ponies; Spike's clapping and foot steps were more or less drowned out by the stomping of hooves on the hard, wooden floor.

Watching Sweetie, who was now jumping around and swaying from side to side with the beat, he confidently sat back as everyone seemed to take over his song. He didn't mind tough, although he opted to jump in after a few more verses to actually finish.

"Make him swim in an icy river, let him stay until he shivers, leave him there until his dinner, early in the morning!"

Needless to say, Barbossa was somewhat impressed. Sure, all the rhymes were mostly halves, but to make the rhythm still work was quite a nice thing to hear. Usually, the men from his ship would stop and start during the song; something which irritated the more intellectual men. Well, him and Joshamee. He didn't know any other men on the crew who could be called intelligent.

He found it somewhat insulting that most of his crew could be outdone, in many respects, by a little talking horse.

"Way hay and up she rises, way hay and up she rises, way hay and up she rises, early in the morning."

"Perm his tail and curl his mane, leave him out there in the rain, make him have it done again, early in the morning!"

Listening for her to finish, the pirate jumped up to his feet, pushing his hands out to his side, trying to urge the others not to start the chorus. The song was already over what was normally sang, and he could tell Sweetie would simply keep on going. Given a different set of circumstances, Barbossa would have continued on too, but a long voyage while drunk was a more appealing prospect than singing in a library while sober.

"That's what we do with a drunken sailor, that's what we do with a drunken sailor, that's what we do with a drunken sailor, earl-aye in the mornin'!" he sang before raising his hands in the air towards everyone else.

"Way hay and up she rises, way hay and up she rises, way hay and up she rises, early in the morning!"

Keeping his hands in the air, hoping to signify the song was, in fact, over, he flinched back as everyone began banging their hooves on the floor. Taking a few steps backwards, and letting his breath run slightly ragged, he looked around and saw Spike clapping amidst the ponies as they stomped hard against the wood. Letting his guard down, he nervously laughed before replacing his cocky smile; they were clapping for him.

Not everyone seemed so happy though.

"Couldn't we have kept on going?" Sweetie said, pouting.

"Aye, but I got the sense ye'd soon grow bored."

"But I wasn't getting bored. I liked that song. I could have went on forever."

"Aye, and that were me main concern. Songs generally have an end te them. Elseways they get rather laborious."

Scrunching her nose at his long word, Barbossa saw Rarity whisper into her ear before Sweetie approached him once again.

"But if I sang it, nopony would think it was boring; I'd make it fun to listen too."

"If ye could do such a thing forever, ye'd have me in yer debt, but until then, I dare say our little sing song is _over_."

"Hector..." Twilight whispered to him, but it fell on deaf ears.

"Could you teach me another song? You said you knew more."

"Another day; ye've worn me out."

He wasn't tired physically, but mentally, he felt drained. Not just the singing, but attempting to keep up appearances for most of the day just made him want to sleep. Then again, it was nothing he couldn't handle. It wasn't like he had a choice though, and singing to children wasn't the most demanding task he'd had to do in his life.

"Hector," Twilight said again, this time catching the pirate's attention.

Facing her, he focused his eyes on Twilight, waiting for her to speak, but instead he saw everyone smiling at the little unicorn to his side. Confused, he looked down at her, seeing nothing but Sweetie looking back up at him.

She then turned to face the ponies opposite the pirate, her friends of which were smiling much harder than the others.

Applebloom skipped from hoof to hoof, pointing her forehooves at her friend. Scootaloo was dancing in a similar fashion, but rather than point, she slowly shook from side to side.

"Sweetie Belle! Y'all got your cutie mark."

Moving his attention to where the red maned pony was pointing, he saw Sweetie stare at her own backside before taking notice of what they were pointing at. There was a small, pink bell tattooed on her hind quarters, with a smaller purple musical note pictured slightly off centre. The rounded end of the note had a white, smiling face inside it.

"Ye talkin' about the tattoo?" the pirate asked, confusedly raising both his eyebrows.

Sweetie Belle began spinning around herself, almost as if she were chasing her tail. The other two then started dancing around beside her, hugging her once they had finally stopped. The older mares just looked on at them, with Rarity walking up to her sister before Hector approached Twilight.

"Seein' as I'm bein' _ignored_, I'll ask again; what were ye talkin' about?"

Twilight pulled herself out of the daze she was in and finally looked up at the pirate. She just smiled at him.

"She got her cutie mark."

Barbossa simply stared back at her, sure that the answer Twilight gave hardly counted as one.

"Didn't you ever wonder why we called them the Crusaders?"

"Not really; didn't seem that relevant te me situation," he mockingly replied.

"Cutie marks are something ponies get when they discover the one thing they're best at, the one talent that separates them from everypony else. Those three were the only ones in their class who hadn't got them yet, so they called themselves 'The Cutie Mark Crusaders'."

Noting he had been doing so a lot lately, the pirate raised an eyebrow and scratched his beard. He looked toward the rest of the beings present, watching as they all crowded around Sweetie Belle. This wasn't something he particularly cared about, but he had wondered once or twice about their tattoos.

"And they just...appear? Like magic?"

"Yes. If a pony realises what they enjoy doing, or what they are best at, they just appear. Their cutie mark is a visual representation of that thing."

Barbossa once again looked over at Sweetie Belle, glazing over the picture now printed on her flank. This was rather bizarre. Impossibly so.

"And yers represents...jewels?"

Looking down at her own cutie mark, Twilight smiled before shaking her head.

"No, mine represents my association with magic. Some ponies are good at one kind of magic, whereas I'm good at all kinds. The meaning isn't always literal."

Rubbing the bridge of his nose, he pulled is hand over his face in an attempt to let the information sink in. All in all, he thought the situation rather stupid, idiotic, and overly childish, but if it just happened, he guessed even they couldn't do much about it.

"Where I come from, animals are branded wi' hot pokers in that spot. Lets ye know who they belongs to."

Dipping her head, she shook the idea out of her mind before walking up the rest of her friends, leaving Barbossa on his own. He stood there, attempting to decipher what the other two had for their talents in life. Applejack was obvious, given he'd seen her working in the fields, and he had a good idea about Rarity's.

"Greedy bitch."

Coming out of his day dream, he watched as a good deal of the animals present walked over to him, with the foals stood at the front.

Waiting for whatever they wanted to say, he raised his arms in the air as Sweetie Belle instead hugged him, leaning her head on his shins.

"Thank you."

Barbossa stood there, not quite sure how to react to being hugged. He wasn't naïve, nor was he a stranger to affection. He could show compassion and be kind, if anything he'd proven that the last few days. Children were still foreign territory, however.

"Yer most...welcome?" he managed to utter out before attempting returning the gesture, awkwardly bending down and cupping his hands in the air around the little filly.

Realising the act wasn't going to work, and that he'd rather not actually do it, he gave up the idea and continued to awkwardly stand there with the small filly clutching at his leg.

"I'm guessin' this means I'm fergiven' then?"

Nodding her head, still hugging tight around his leg, he stood back when she finally let go, glad to have his personal space back. The other two foals walked out to stand next to her.

"Well, I forgive you," Sweetie murmured.

"And ah guess if y'all helped get Sweetie her cutie mark, ya can't be all bad and stuff."

That just left the small orange horse.

"I don't like you very much. Not even a little bit, but I know when someone does something nice for somepony else. And your story did sound pretty cool, I guess..."

Taking that as his pardon, he mentally congratulated himself; he had dealt with the children. More or less successfully. And they had proclaimed him 'cool' too.

"But I think it's time you went home," Twilight said, "You've had enough...excitement today."

Nodding at the studious unicorn, two of the Crusaders walked away with Applejack and Twilight, while Scootaloo held back before going outside.

"Since we're best friends and all now, I don't suppose you could teach me some piratey stuff? You know, to see if you can get me my cutie mark too? That way the princess is sure to be twice as happy with you!"

The clearing of Twilight's throat was enough to pull her away, and grumbling as she left, Scootaloo waved to Spike before leaving.

"You can cross me off your list too."

Picking up on the new speaker, Barbossa looked over to see Rarity standing at the door. He couldn't tell if she was happy or not, but at least there wasn't anything negative on her face.

"Anypony who helps get my sister get her cutie can't be completely bad. I don't trust you any more than I did when I arrived, but just know you there isn't much else you can do that would please me."

With Rarity walking through the door, and closing it behind her, Barbossa was left in the sole company of Spike the baby dragon. Sitting down on the couch, he picked up a book he had been reading and continued from where he left off, licking his finger as he readied to turn the next page.

He'd done pretty well today. He'd pleased the foals, and he'd got the prissy pony off his back without even trying. Maybe the whole act of pleasing the ponies would be easier than he'd thought.

"So..." Spike murmured, leaning back and forth on his feet.

Barbossa looked down towards him. Feeling somewhat good about himself, and realising Spike obviously wanted something, the pirate decided to humour the dragon for a change. He closed the book with an audible clap.

"So?" Barbossa said, trying not to sound too enthusiastic whilst talking to the little reptile.

"So...you were really immortal? Like the princess?"

Oh. This line of questioning was actually going somewhere. And without any needless chatter too.

"Yer majesty's immortal?

"Well, yeah. Celestia and Luna are both immortal. They're like...old."

Barbossa looked toward the ceiling, letting a small smile escape his lips. Immortality. Never ending life. Or, at least, another way of achieving it. He looked forward to seeing the princess again.

"But I asked about you. What was it like. How old are you?"

The pirate wondered himself. He knew how old he was, but he often contemplated how much he'd actually aged at the hands of the curse, or if he had aged those ten years at all.

"Fifty four. And ye remember what yer purple friend looked like?"

"Yeah, it looked horrible."

"Aye, but that's how it was all the time. And I had to suffer that for ten years. A whole, bloody decade. A decade, with no food, no drink, and no feelin'."

But now he was getting to what interested him.

"Do yer princesses feel that burden?"

The small dragon looked a little less than comfortable, shuffling on his feet and looking around the captain rather than directly at him. He did eventually answer.

"I don't think so. I've seen them both eat and drink before. Celestia likes carrot cake quite a bit too. And I've seen them both drinking wine."

Sitting back in the chair, the pirate captain rubbed his mouth and beard, holding back a smile at this new revelation. Maybe he could discover their secret while he was here. Maybe there was some fantastical pony spell or incantation to gaining it. It certainly seemed likely.

Wait.

"Are there any more immortals?"

"Not really. There are some spirits, and dragons can live pretty long lives, but there aren't any other ponies as immortal as the princesses."

"Bugger."

It was likely hereditary. That, or it was something very few were privy too, and if that was indeed the case, Barbossa doubted he would get a sneak peak at the source. Though he'd still make sure to raise the topic when he next saw the princess.

"How big de dragons get?"

Spike smiled, somewhat gleefully proud that their visitor was interested in something about him for a change.

"We can grow as big as a castle, maybe even two or three of them. Pretty cool, eh? If I were older, I could burn you to a crisp and eat you in one bite. How do you like them apples?"

The pirate deliberately waited for a few seconds before answering.

"And how long would it be till ye were of human gobblin' size?" he asked with a cocky grin present on his face.

"Well...around one hundred and fifty years or so, give or take."

"Ah, well ain't that a shame? Guess ye'll have te settle for being small enough for me to stand on."

Getting the rather unfunny message, Spike grumbled before wandering off to do his chores. He had the mess in the main room to clear up, as well as his usual task of sorting the books. Before he left, however, Barbossa shouted to the small dragon.

"Spike, be a _dear_ and fetch me a book on yer royal majesties, if ye please. I'm feelin' curious."

Once again grumbling at the pirate, Spike reluctantly did as he was asked. However, if Barbossa wanted information on the princesses, perhaps he could make the pirate see how good Twilight and others really were. Picking out one on each of the sisters, the little dragon searched out a final book with a familiar stained glass window on the front.

"Mister Barbossa," Spike said, as he mentally twiddled a moustache, "have you heard the story of Nightmare Moon?"

**Author's Note: **Oh, it has been far too long since the last chapter, and for that, I apologise. On the upside, the next one should be out sooner, or, at least, that's my hope given how far along the current chapter I'm writing is doing. And I also looked back at some of the earlier chapters, which, to be honest, are not the best looking bunch in terms of the amount of mistakes lying around. So, I'll hopefully be fixing them soon too.


	12. Walk the Plank

**Chapter 12: Walk the Plank**

Wandering through the middle of Ponyville still made the captain less than comfortable, but given his recent circumstances, he had long since gotten used to the sight of multicoloured horses. They had apparently yet to get used to him though, with a good deal of the little things still trying to wander away as he approached.

But not everyone seemed seemed desperate to escape him, given that more than a few often walked along at his side, trying to sneakily get a closer look or hear what he was talking about. Then again, he didn't know whether that was because they thought he was 'cool', or because the pony walking alongside him was actually a living legend.

Barbossa was heading back to see Fluttershy today. And seeing as he'd done such a good job the day before, he thought he may as well get some more of his task over and done with. His main obstacle now was pleasing Rainbow Dash, so he chose to try and please the shyer one instead.

Fluttershy would surely be a lot easier to help out, and seeing as he'd pleased more than one party the day before, he didn't really feel like putting the effort in with the cyan mare, nor did he think he really needed to; he was doing better than he assumed he would.

But regardless of how great an impression he'd made helping the little filly receive her mark of honour, Twilight still wouldn't let him leave the house on his own, something which caused him more than a small ounce of irritation. He was a grown man, slightly past his prime, yet a woman, likely just out of her teens, insisted on being his escort.

But knowing what he now knew, assuming it was true, he'd do better to avoid the purple pony altogether. According to the book the dragon had got for him, Twilight, as well as her five friends, had defeated an immortal enchantress, a nightmare, who even their revered and all-powerful princess couldn't handle. And she was the one who chose to raise the sun each morning and set it at night!

Looking back down to the pony walking alongside him, he felt...beneath her. She held a power told of in legends, as did the other five, and they were famous for it. But while he could certainly see Twilight, and perhaps even Rainbow being almighty mistresses of immense power, how could Fluttershy be one? Or the farmer? Or even the pompous bitch?

And how she represented generosity, he had no idea; she'd done nothing but harass him since the moment she'd met him. The only thing she'd been generous enough to give him was a sturdy hit to the back of the head, and when he thought of generosity, he certainly didn't think of being knocked senseless to the point of unconsciousness.

And the pink one didn't even that seem useful to have in a battle. He could more or less guess why she was the being of laughter, but what use would that be in a battle? How would she even be able to aid her allies? Did she divert the enemy or distract them? Then again, maybe it was metaphorical, and she used her wit to talk herself out of situations, like Jack?

But in the end, it didn't really matter. As powerful as they supposedly were, he'd be gone soon, and then he could rely on his own fists to do the fighting for him. As well as his crew, cannons, swords, pistol, and anything else his he happened to have at hand.

But there was something else that bothered him about this world; it was idiotic. They let a defiled goddess back onto the throne. Why in God's name would they do that? Surely if they simply killed her, they would not only resolve the problem, but stop it from happening again?

And everyone was apparently privy to the story of the lunar maiden's rise and fall, so why would any of the common beggars trust such a thing? It had tried to destroy their world. And the legend had been told for hundreds of years, yet everybody was supposedly happy to welcome the evil enchantress back with open arms.

But once again, it didn't matter. Once he was gone, they could sit in ignorance all they wanted. It was their world, and if they wanted to let it fall into the realms of hell and darkness, that was up to them.

But it gave him a new appreciation for the creatures that had been so lenient with him. He had been living with legends, and he'd even sparked a confrontation with them, yet they hadn't sent him to the moon or bludgeoned him to death with rainbows.

Then again, if they were so powerful, so respected and feared that they could take down a goddess of the moon and sky, then why did they struggle against him?

He was hardly a god among men, and even when he took into account his practically unmatched skills with a sword, it didn't add up, not in his mind at least. He barely attempted to use his sword, and they still had to resort to hitting him in the head with a branch to make any sort of progress. There was only one attacking him at the time, but the point still held water.

Or maybe they were like Blackbeard; perhaps they needed some form of weapon to make use of their powers? Or maybe it was something else entirely, like wishing or through some other magical feat of pony thinking he hadn't yet heard of?

It was all rather complicated. The books would have done well to explain how they actually used their powers to defeat the nightmare. All it told of was their valiant teamwork and trust towards each other. As useful as that was in any situation, it didn't really explain what the power they used actually was.

Looking back down the the purple pony at his side, he let out a disgruntled sigh and cracked his knuckles. As of late, the ponies had shown no sign of wanting to cause him harm, nor did it seem like they actually could. Of course, Twilight's magic was something in itself. It was something he would actually fear if used against him.

Spike had even told him about her feat of levitating a creature a thousand times the pirate's size into the air, and how she could bring anything she desired to life through will power alone. Barbossa didn't know if the small dragon exaggerated the stories, but even if they were only partially true, she sounded like something he wouldn't hope to win against.

He'd have a hell of time trying though, given the opportunity.

And then there was the incident with the Aztec coin. He honestly didn't know what to make of that. The curse was powerful, placed upon the gold by the heathen gods themselves; some of the most powerful beings his world could imagine. Yet Twilight had tampered with the coin so easily. The curse had overcame her own powers, sure, but she had accomplished something no man or witch doctor had ever done before her.

And if Twilight was capable of that, what were the princesses of the ponies capable of? They were supposedly even more powerful than most other beings alive. He had some doubts about that, due to the nightmare's defeat at the hands of the purple unicorn and the other Elements, but it all still seemed somewhat...overwhelming.

Taking a second glance at the alien world, looking behind all the colours, looking past all the creatures with wide eyes and smiling faces, he could see that it was something he didn't want to begin trifling with. Not on his own, at least.

There were gods living in their royal palace, spreading word of friendship and unity, whereas he had a fat, delusional man ruling for the sake of greed. This world had common folk being able to move the very clouds themselves. They could command the rain, sleet, hail and snow to whatever schedule they deemed proper, yet humanity was left to die in the cold and fend for themselves against the stormy horizon.

This world didn't even have a death penalty for the dark and villainous to fear, yet those that crossed the line were given a fate worse than death to deal with. Behind everything he had laughed at, behind everything he had looked down upon, there were things far greater than he thought possible staring back down at him, laughing right back.

A quick hoof to his right shin brought him out of his reverie. It didn't hurt, but it was enough to focus his attention on the creature that had initiated the attack. Looking down at Twilight, he waited for her to speak.

"I said, do you know what you're going to do once you get there?"

"Be there a need to?" he answered, "Surely she must have somethin' that needs doin'."

Twilight focused her eyes on the pirate before looking back to the route they were taking. They were close to Fluttershy's cottage, but it would take at least another five or ten minutes to get there.

"You know, I get the feeling you're not learning anything from doing good deeds."

"And what de ye expect me te learn, Miss Sparkle? I've learned what needs te be learnt, and I make do with it. Can't be askin' for more than that."

"You _could_ learn to be kinder, or more considerate of your actions."

"Aye, and a great advantage that'll give me when I get back te me own world. When the world's against ye, sayin' please and thank ye isn't goin' te go changin' their perception of what ye are."

"And what is their perception of you, exactly?"

"Not the same one I have," he said, tapping his forehead with a finger, "Every man has their own eyes, and each sees the world as a different world entirely. The beings inside it included."

Twilight looked back at him with her eyelids lowered, not overly pleased that he had side stepped her question. But then, she did enjoy it when she could talk to him on a more intellectual level. He seemed to enjoy it too, when he felt like it.

"That's very philosophical, coming from you."

The pirate curtly laughed, not stopping his walk as Twilight continued to trot alongside him.

"Yer lucky I'm takin' that as a compliment," he said, not attempting to hide the malice in his voice, "I'm more than just a humble pirate, I think ye'll find."

"Really? I haven't seen much of your cultural side," Twilight shot back, jokingly.

The captain didn't take it lightly as she had though. Even if he was leaving this world forever, he didn't want his lasting impression to be completely controlled by power and fear. As good as they were, he wasn't simple minded monster. He had standards.

"It may surprise ye, with yer world o' pretty colours and talkin' pets, but men in me own world seldom have the ability te read. I, however, do. More still haven't the ability te play an instrument, but I do, and no-"

"You can play a musical instrument?" Twilight interjected,"Really? Which one?"

Slightly taken back by her enthusiasm, Barbossa nodded in response, not sure whether to feel proud or annoyed that the unicorn was so surprised.

"Aye, the violin," he said, deliberately holding an air of arrogance as he smiled, before realising the purple mare likely had no knowledge of the instrument he was boasting about.

"_You_ play the violin?"

Or...maybe she did?

"Ain't touched one for nigh on fifteen years, but I'm not too disinclined te assume I can still play," he said, before realising the contradiction in what was being discussed, "How de _ye_ know about violins?"

Twilight kept walking alongside him, giving him a queer look, not quite understanding where his question was leading.

"Why wouldn't I know about violins?"

"Ye have no fingers."

Widening her eyes in realisation, finally getting the feeling that she knew what he was thinking, she smiled before shaking her head.

"No, we don't, but unicorns use their magic to play them. Some earth ponies can even play larger string instruments with the hooves. It isn't that hard."

The pirate sighed, clicking his tongue against his teeth.

"Seems more like cheatin' if ye can use yer powers te play 'em," he shot back.

Barbossa was surprised it was a topic he was now talking so casually about. Unicorn magic sounded both utterly ridiculous, yet logically sound to him at the same time. Though, the second he left the pony lands, anything he quoted or repeated would likely be laughed at. Or, in a dire situation, have him dubbed unfit of the mind.

"They're still hard to play. A unicorn can't just use their magic to do something and be great at it first time. Unless I learned beforehoof, I wouldn't be able to play the violin. I'd probably fail miserably if I tried right now."

Undecided on whether Twilight mentioned violins again to make him feel better, or to simply continue their conversation, Barbossa shrugged off her comment regardless, once again focusing on the walk to the cottage.

"I should get one for you to try. It would be nice to hear you play," Twilight chirped, not receiving any response other than a sarcastic smile that vanished from his face as quickly as it had appeared.

Thinking she'd likely not get anything more out of the pirate, Twilight followed in Hector's footsteps and focused on getting to Fluttershy's. She didn't know if he was really improving, or if he even meant anything he said, but as long as he didn't cause any trouble, that was all that she could hope for at this point.

He was cordial, and polite when he wanted to be, and if that was the best they could get out of him, she wasn't going to push the matter any further. He didn't seem overly kind, and he didn't seem very noble in his intentions and beliefs, but he was behaving.

After walking for a few more minutes in the same silence the last leg of the trip had comprised of, the two finally arrived at the cottage. Unlike when Barbossa had last left the residence, the place was once again flourished with the presence of animals and brightly coloured creatures.

One in particular seemed to take special notice as the pirate walked up the path.

The little white rabbit once again stood in Barbossa's way, this time on the path itself, rather than the doorstep. While a good deal of the other animals also seemed to remember the pirate, they all appeared to go limp under his shadow, or simply scamper away before he reached them.

But, much like before, the rabbit stood defiant in his path.

"Hello again. Take it ye remember me?"

The creature responded by crossing his arms and nodding his head. It also appeared to be scrunching it's nose and lowering it's ears. At least, he did until another creature made their way down the path he was guarding.

"Now, now, Angel. Try and be nice."

Barbossa took a gander up from the bunny to see Fluttershy walking towards them. She paused when the pirate looked her way, but soon after, continued along the path towards them. The small rabbit kept his ground though, simply turning to face the yellow more instead of actually moving from his spot.

"Hello, Twilight. Hello, Hector."

She smiled at her friend before doing the same to the pirate. But not the same kind of smile. The smile he received seemed more of a forced gesture, but he wasn't complaining.

"Afternoon, Fluttershy. Hector says he wants to help you today."

"Oh...h-he does?"

Straight to the point. The pirate reasoned it was better than attempting small talk for the next few minutes, and he did want to get his task over and done with. Fluttershy turned to face him, once again smiling.

"Rarity told me what happened yesterday, with Sweetie Belle. I think that was very nice what you did."

Barbossa didn't reply, not quite sure how to. While he wasn't against doing what he did, it wasn't like he had actively tried to be so kind. He simply sang the song to amuse the children. He wondered if they even realised he dropped out of the shanty he was meant to be singing only a few verses in.

"So I've been told," was all he ended up saying, hoping to sound, at least, uplifting rather than miserable.

"They've been trying for so long, you see, and it's nice that at least one of them has finally gotten their cutie mark."

"Aye...right..."

He honestly wasn't that bothered. He was somewhat pleased, if not outright proud, he had helped with such an important part in a child's life, but in the end, he didn't really care to hear their backstory or past endeavours. They weren't his children, and he'd only met them on common ground once, and even then it got off to a very chaotic start.

Seeing that he was growing bored, Twilight gestured with her forehoof to get to the point. Fluttershy nodded, partially thankful they didn't have to continue the awkward conversation they were having.

"So...what do you want to help me with?"

"Anythin'," he said, moving his hands out to the world around him, trying to emphasise his point. "Except singin'."

"Anything?"

Fluttershy took a moment to look at her guests, biting the tip of her bottom lip. After a few seconds, she raised her head and flew back into her house. Confused, the captain looked down at Twilight before she simply shrugged her shoulders and shook her head.

Around a minute of waiting later, the yellow pegasus strolled out with a piece of paper between her teeth. Shaking it towards the pirate, he exhaled through his mouth and took it into his hand. It was a poster.

"Please help save the animals. If ye have the time te spare, come help build some new homes for the poor, little creatures. They would be ever so happy to receive yer help..." Barbossa reluctantly recited, reading directly from the poster in his grasp.

"You want him to help build some animal shelters?"

"Well, I didn't know what else he could do for me. And...and only two other ponies were there last time I checked. I only came back because they said I could use a break."

Twilight frowned. It was true that not many ponies were overly charitable, but with the community living so near a forest, she thought there would be at least more than two willing to help. If she'd known about the event, and didn't have an alien pirate in her home and his problems to deal with, she would likely have helped out for a short while too.

"I'm sure he could manage that, right Hector?"

While he wanted to point out she was basically deciding his fate for him, physical labour was something he could actually do without a hassle. It was a task and goal he could aim to complete, and once it was done, that's what it was; done. Simple.

"It sounds reasonable enough," he said casually, glancing back over the poster, which also had a rather large image of an overly sad rabbit with its front paws held out, begging, emblazoned below the plead.

If he did this for Fluttershy, his only obstacle left would be Rainbow. He also considered Twilight as part of his list, but given that she'd likely be pleased with a few colourful accounts of his life, as well as some common facts, she'd likely be easy to deal with.

"Oh, then would you mind if we went now? The others are probably still on their own."

"If we must," he said nonchalantly, nodding his head.

It honestly didn't matter when they went, seeing as he'd came to do his duty. Maybe it would even be somewhat enjoyable. While he was far from gifted at the craft, woodwork was something he could handle.

"Do you want to come, Twilight?"

As much as she wanted to, she really couldn't. As much work as the princesses were apparently doing with research on their end, Twilight still needed to sort some things out on hers.

The royal sisters had more material at the castle, but Twilight still had some books that her mentor didn't. There was also the issue of getting her regular duties sorted, as well as organising everything she had learned about her new lodger thus far.

"Sorry, I've got some things to do today. I only really came to make sure Hector didn't cause trouble on the way here."

"Oh, that's okay. I know you have a lot of things to do," Fluttershy agreed, looking knowingly at the pirate.

Twilight smiled at her friend before turning to the human being in question.

"And if you cause trouble for Fluttershy, you know what will happen to you. I'm trusting you to behave while I'm not around."

Nodding and waving a hand in the air, he used the other to pat the purple unicorn on the head, making sure to use slightly more force than needed. He inwardly laughed to himself as he looked down at the now slightly deformed look on her face, as she snorted and exhaled air slowly through her clenched teeth.

"Aye, aye. I'll be on me best behaviour, _mother_," he mockingly said, still wrinkling Twilight's coat and face as she he continued to pat her head.

Forcefully moving away from his grip, and scrunching her eyes over and over to get rid of the feeling in her face, Twilight turned once again to Fluttershy.

Despite her worries, the yellow mare nodded confidently, striking a stiff pose and a smile. Maybe she did undervalue Fluttershy too much? The pegasus had dealt with worse creatures than Barbossa.

"Are you're sure you'll be okay?"

"We'll be fine, Twilight. I'm sure he won't do anything too reckless."

It was him doing anything at all that worried her, but in the end, if Fluttershy said she could cope, then Twilight had to have faith in her.

Nodding to her friend once again, and then giving a stern look to the pirate, Twilight said her farewells and trotted off, looking behind her back more than once before disappearing out of sight.

As Fluttershy swiftly flew back into her woodland home, the captain patiently waited for his taskmaster to return. The rabbit once again continued to stare at him, pointing to his caretaker's house before shaking his head from side to side.

"If ye think yer threatenin' me, ye'd best start rethinkin' yer strategy. I've seen fiercer things than the likes of you on the underside o' me boots."

Despite his witty retort, Barbossa realised he was still actively trying to threaten a mute rabbit, something that, even in this strange world, seemed utterly ridiculous to him. Not willing to indulge in the one sided conversation any longer, he simply waited for Fluttershy to return, which only took around another few minutes of his time.

The only difference was that, when she did appear, she sported a brown saddle bag at her sides, which had her mark stitched directly into he fabric.

"A-are you ready?"

She sounded nervous, too. Maybe with Twilight around him, she had less to worry about. Or perhaps Barbossa was just as imposing as he liked to think he was.

"May as well be," he answered, trying to sound less than threatening, if only to help the situation, "Where we doin' this?"

"It's not far. It's near Everfree, actually."

Releasing a gruff sigh, he simply nodded and walked forward, leaving Fluttershy in his wake. Scurrying after him, she walked at his left hand side, occasionally looking up at him before moving her head away.

After few minutes of walking, and Fluttershy still insisting on looking towards his head every now and then, the pirate rolled his head back before directing his gaze down at the squeamish mare.

"There be somethin' ye want, or does the ground _really_ interest ye as much as me face?"

She jumped, hopping along the ground for a spell before tripping over her own hooves. Getting her balance back and refusing to fall, she looked back towards the ground, shaking her head.

"N-no. I was just wondering about your monkey. He must miss you."

The captain was surprised. He didn't think any of them had given thought to what he'd left behind in his own world. Fluttershy had just earned herself an ounce of respect, whether Barbossa wanted to admit to it to her or not.

"Jack's fine. He'll find his way back te me shoulder eventually."

It was true, of course. He always found a way back to his shoulder. He often wondered if it was some sort of symbolic link, or simply the monkey seeking out the cursed coin in his master's pocket. Either way, it proved useful.

It proved disheartening too. He hadn't thought much about what he'd left behind, partially due to his belief he would soon be back amongst his own kind. But he did miss Jack. He liked having a pet by his side, and the little monkey was certainly one of a kind.

Expecting her to ask more of his pet, Barbossa blinked as she suddenly jumped up in the air and glided away. Following her form, he saw her heading towards two other creatures in the distance before landing in between them. There also appeared to be a few tables scattered around the grass, from what he could see.

Continuing his walk towards the construction area, which was up a small incline, he watched as two strangers looked towards him before turning back to Fluttershy. One looked nervous, he had to admit, but the other one didn't seem to care all that much, simply nodding and moving back to his, or her, work station.

Finally arriving a good minute behind the yellow mare, he trundled up to where she stood, somewhat tired. He could easily run further distances, or even up the hill itself, but walking it just seemed to tire him out quicker.

The other two walked up to him, standing next to Fluttershy, seemingly interested in his presence. Why the hell not, everybody bloody else seemed to be.

"Oh, hello! You're the thing staying with Twilight Sparkle? The one from far away?"

The first to approach him was a stallion, the first one he'd properly had the chance to meet since arriving in Ponyville. Compared to most of his peers, he was a rather sensible set of colours, having a light brown coat and a darker shade of brown colouring his mane. He had light blue eyes too, something else that seemed oddly out of place in this absurd world. The mark on his arse was an hourglass, and a rather fine time piece it was too, having what appeared to be a set of gold holds at each end.

"Ye could go about sayin' that. Captain Barbossa," he said, momentarily raising his eyebrows and tilting his head forward before pushing his hands into his pockets.

The little pony didn't reply, and instead just chose to stare at the captain as he stood there.

"Yeah, that's...that's kind of weird," he replied, waving a hoof half heartedly in the air, "Anyway, I'm Time Turner."

Barbossa paused at the stallion's name, trying to hold back the smirk sneaking on to his lips. While the resemblance to young William's name was somewhat amusing, he found it more interesting still that the name sounded reasonably...sane, at least compared to Pinkie Pie or Fluttershy.

Feeling he had greeted the brown horse with a decent amount of respect, he turned to the other one.

This one was a female pegasus, and she had a light grey coat and a blonde mane. In context, she also seemed much less flamboyant compared to the rest of the beings Barbossa had met. Her eyes were slightly out of joint, pointing in different directions, but at least they were both her own. Her mark appeared to be a batch of blue...balls? Marbles?

"I-I'm Ditzy Doo," was all she said, seemingly attempting to avoid eye contact, even though her right eye was looking right at him.

Rather than awkwardly reintroduce himself, the human instead nodded and turned to face Fluttershy. Whether his company was decent or not, he still had to complete his charity work, and the sooner it was done, the sooner he could leave.

He didn't know what he would do once he actually did finish, but there was surely something, somewhere out there that would amuse him.

"All we need to do is cut the wood into smaller pieces, and use them to construct the habitats."

The pirate looked towards the pile of timber she was pointing towards. Needless to say, there was quite a bit of it. At least ten or so individual pieces, and each of them were around two metres long, piled up in stacks.

"And...I have te do...all of it?"

"I know it seems like a lot, but the wood isn't that hard to cut, and if you did this, then we could get busy doing the actual constructing."

He looked at the other two, who simply nodded at him, agreeing with the yellow mare's point. But the pirate liked to know what he was up against, and while he could simply take their word for it, he did want some inclination of how long it would take.

"And ye've made how many?"

"We've made eleven, soon to be twelve," answered Turner with a smile, motioning towards a half built structures on his table.

"In how long? And usin' how many timbers?"

Ditzy looked towards her friend before scrunching her eyes together and tapping her hooves on the ground.

"We used up three timbers in about two hours. B-but not all the things are the same size."

Barbossa let his hands find their way to his face, before he rubbed his forehead and eyes. Two hours to use up three timbers? That would amount to at least seven or eight hours work. How could building hutches take so long?

Seeing Barbossa's thought process played out by his actions, Fluttershy worriedly shook her head, tapping her forehooves on the ground in front of him.

"B-but with your help, I'm sure we'll get done twice as fast. Right guys?"

Time Turner merely shrugged his shoulders.

"We'll have to see what he can do then. Come on then, Mr. Barbossa, chop chop," he said before laughing to himself, "Get it? Because it's...it's, it's chopping?"

Ditzy shook her head, half closing her eyes before moving to his side. Watching the two ponies walk towards the table with the half built structure on top, Barbossa took a deep breath before begrudgingly turning back to Fluttershy. The brown one was going to annoy him. He was sure of it.

"Just show me what I'm doin'."

Lowering her eyes, Fluttershy sighed before leading Barbossa to a second table, positioned next to the piles of wood, as well as a small set of tools that were sat on the grass.

There were only a few saws, but along with their smaller size, the human also saw the handles were very different from what he was used to. They were cupped at the end, and had straps attached to the sides. He had a a fairly good idea of why they were there.

"How am I meant te use these bloody things? There's no handle!" he said, trying to keep his rant from reaching the ears from the other two.

"Oh...um..."

Fluttershy looked at the saws, picking one up and examining it before checking the pirate's hands. Looking back down at the tool, she put it back onto the ground before going over to the other table. After talking to the grey mare, she came back with what appeared to be an axe.

"This isn't as safe, but...I-I guess you could use this..."

She lowered it into his grasp before pulling it away, apparently look down the road they'd came before staring back at the pirate.

"I-if you promise not to hurt...anypony."

Grumbling under his breath, wondering why she thought he'd suddenly go on a equine killing spree with an axe, he nodded his head and held out his hand.

"Aye, aye, cross me 'eart and hope te _bloody_ fly, just give me the damn tool," he replied, sounding more sarcastic than actually threatening.

The mare obliged, despite his poor rendition of Pinkie's promise, and taking it into his grasp, he noted that, once again, the axe was much like any axe from his world. The head was made of stone rather than iron, but from what he could tell, it was sharpened enough to cut through tree bark, though he doubted it would last very long. The only other oddity was the teeth and bite marks at the base of the wooden handle.

"Ye chop wood with yer teeth?"

"Well, yes, we have strong enough teeth, but some ponies just prefer doing it the old fashioned way. No one turned up to use it though."

Despite how the situation was going, Barbossa could at least see the creature in front of him was thoughtful, going as far as to bring different tools for the sake of a complete stranger. Despite he himself being the number one charity he supported, there had to be something said for those who helped the poor. He could respect them for being fair, if nothing else.

"And ye just want these chopped?"

"Yes. And each piece should be about...this big," she said, pointing to an already clean cut piece of wood, "and after you've cut them by length a few times, you then do the same by width. Then one of us will sand it or cut it to the needed size before we use the rest to make a little house."

"So just cut 'em in te bits, an' then those bits in te two?"

If she'd asked him to do that, he could have simply got on with it, rather than have to stand and listen to the whole process of making an over zealous birdhouse.

"Yes, basically. Is that okay?"

Unsure why she was asking if his punishment was okay or not, he merely nodded and cracked his shoulders, took off his hat and large jacket, and tossed them onto a nearby tree stump. Flinching at the crunching of his bones, Fluttershy let herself shiver before trotting away. She wandered back to the other bench before apparently doing her own task.

Picking up the axe with both hands, spinning it around in his grasp, Barbossa smiled and launched the head of the tool into on of the timbers, which had already been partially cut into segments, forcing a loud grunt out from his mouth.

Letting his arms follow the weight of the stone, the tool suddenly stopped, wedging itself in between the layers of the wood. Pulling the axe free, after a few moments of struggling, he did the same again, this time cutting the log in two.

Balancing the cut piece on its side, he then did the same again, falling forward as the wood split apart into two halves, rather easier than he expected it to. They weren't perfect halves, but there wasn't anything obviously uneven on either side.

Deciding it wouldn't take him as long as he thought it would, he cracked his neck before once again launching at the wood, showing his teeth as he smiled a toothy grin.

He mindlessly continued with the task for a little over two hours, finding some cuts of wood much harder to cut than others. Looking over at all the wood he'd successfully cut, the pirate wiped his brow before looking at what was left. Only two.

He wondered how it could have possibly taken them so long to simply get through three, but after noticing that barely any of the wood he'd spent so long cutting had left the new pile, he gathered building took up more of their time.

That, and he wagered cutting wood was probably easier for him; he was taller, and likely had an easier time grabbing hold of the tool itself.

Ready to begin once again, rather tired and growing somewhat bored of his task, Barbossa stopped when he noticed a shadow appearing on the ground next to him.

Not really in the mood to humour the horses, he attempted to push his frustration down, not wanting to raise his voice if he could avoid it. He slowly turned to see Turner stood next to the pile of cut logs, smiling.

"Aye?" Barbossa asked, widening his eyes slightly at the stallion.

"Can I see your teeth?"

The captain allowed himself a few seconds to grasp what he'd been asked before responding. Maybe the heat of hard labour after doing nothing for the past few days was finally getting to him.

"What?"

"Your teeth. You know, your gnashers, your bridgework, chompers, pearly...uh, whites. Your teeth."

Unsure of what to make of the question, the pirate complied, bearing his teeth in a less that kind manner to the stallion. Rather too happily, Time then waltzed up to the pirate, closing one eye as he used the other to peer into his face.

"Oh, this is...surprising, I guess. Never knew Ditzy was this observant. She does have her little moments though; she's nice like that."

Closing his mouth, forcefully pulling himself out of the pony's glare, Barbossa picked up the axe and held it back over his shoulder with one hand.

"And _what_ be so surprising?"

The brown stallion, seemingly coming out of his daydream, worriedly looked up at the captain, trying his best to put on a reassuring smile.

"Oh...nothing. Nothing at all. Sorry to take up your time."

Cantering away from the pirate, coming away with the small pieces of wood he'd originally went for, Time Turner left the grumbling creature on his own, letting the man get on with the job he'd been assigned.

Sitting himself back down next to his bubbly friend, Time endured as Ditzy continuously poked at his side, whispering his name over and over again. He merely smiled, letting her continue before she lost patience and moved her head in front of his.

"Well?"

"Yes, he has got some pointed teeth, so yes, he likely does eat some meat. I'm surprised you even noticed his teeth, actually."

"I just thought they looked weird. And black."

"Yeah, they weren't black, but they were pretty vile. His skin wasn't too nice to look at either. Full of little holes and scars. Doesn't matter all that much though."

"What do you mean? He eats _meat_. He might be dangerous," Ditzy delicately whispered, shifting her good eye towards the tall creature holding an axe within his grasp.

Turner followed he gaze, silently agreeing with her. At least to some extent.

"Yes, but Fluttershy said she could vouch for him. And if he actually ate ponies, I doubt he'd last long living with Twilight. I don't know her that well, but something tells me she _might_ not be the kind of pony to let others get eaten, especially while the being doing the eating slept in her house."

Ditzy looked at her friend, frowning ever so slightly as she pondered what he was saying.

"So...you're not worried? At all?"

"Maybe a little," he admitted, "I mean, I wouldn't trust him any more than any other stranger, but he doesn't seem that bad."

The grey mare once again tilted her head to face the pirate, pulling her bottom lips over her top one as she sat there, staring at him. He was just cutting the wood, like he'd been doing for the past few hours.

"I mean, you've talked to Miles quite a bit. You've met him at work well over fifty times, and he hasn't once tried to eat you."

"Griffins are different."

"How so?" he kindly shot back, smiling, knowing that he'd won the argument, "If Mr. Lanky Limbs over there lived solely on meat, all his teeth would have been pointy."

"But you said they weren't."

"Exactly," he said, hold the first letter of the word as long as he could, "which means he eats other foods as well. Which also means he has a similar diet to a griffin. Which also means, he has just as low a chance of eating you as a griffin does."

"Not really. I mean, you can't just assume he has the same diet as a griffin because he has _some_ spiky teeth," she answered back, teasing the stallion with an impression of his own voice, when relevant.

Ready to answer back, Time stopped when he realised he didn't have much else to say, seeing as he, actually, knew next to nothing about the creature apart from his name and status as an omnivore.

"Well, yeah, I suppose..."

"And I know I'm not the smartest pony," she said, rubbing a fetlock with her hoof, "but I haven't heard of anything like him. He might have different beliefs and stuff wherever he's from."

Time sat there once again, not quite sure how to respond to his friend's, unusually, logical thought pattern. Then again, she wasn't as dimwitted as a lot of other ponies seemed to think she was, and he felt privileged in knowing he got to see more of her than anypony else did.

"He...he might, but I'm willing to give him a chance. I mean, if Fluttershy has faith in him, I can't see the harm in giving him the same benefit of the doubt."

Ditzy had to agree there. As weird and, frankly, scary as Captain Barbossa seemed, Fluttershy seemed okay with him, or as fine as she would be with anypony else she didn't know that well.

"And he didn't stare at my eyes..."

Most ponies or griffins did, but the captain didn't. She was painfully aware it was an obvious trait that most ponies could name her by, but Barbossa didn't even seem bothered by it. If anything, that was a nice change to have when meeting something new, even if he didn't mean to do it.

The pair continued to chat idly about the human for a while longer, still awkwardly trying to recreate the design of the hutches with their forehooves. However, Fluttershy, Time and Ditzy all turned to face the pirate, hearing an audible thud, as well as a content sigh, emanating from his direction.

He was making his way over, carrying his jacket in one of his arms and wearing his hat on the top of his head.

"There. _Done_. All the wood's been cut."

Looking behind him to the pile of freshly chopped wood, Fluttershy blinked before looking up at him.

"You did all of it. Already?"

"Aye, and as that's all ye required, I'm goin'," he proclaimed, jovially sauntering off the way he'd came, putting on his jacket on at the same time, flexing each hand as they made it through the long sleeves.

Widening her eyes and shaking her head, the yellow mare flew up in the air and landed in front of him, standing her ground once she was safely on it.

"But we haven't finished yet. You could help build the homes. I'm sure the animals would appreciate it."

"I'd rather not, if I'm talkin' from honesty'."

He'd arrived, and done his work on the belief that was all he had to do. She hadn't mentioned he would actually be building the houses. She had even said herself that he'd cut while they built. As far as he was concerned, he was done. They just had some serious catching up to do.

Fluttershy watched a cocky smile creep on to his face as he moved around her, heading back down towards her cottage. Not quite sure what to do, she once again flew up into the air, landing at his feet. This time she landed with a harder force, spreading a tiny cloud of dirt and dust into the air.

"And if you stay, we're going to have a picnic," she happily said, regaining her usual calm composure,"You'll get some sandwiches and a cake from Pinkie and..."

Once again walking around the mare, he waved a hand in the air before putting the other in his pocket. While he'd enjoyed the chopping to some extent, it wasn't something he'd choose to do.

He knew he'd likely get in trouble with Twilight for leaving and going against the yellow mare's wishes, but he had done the work he was asked to do. It wasn't like singing; this actually involved a certain amount of effort, and it was obvious none of the ponies living nearby wanted to do what he had done.

And he could have left at any point during his task, but he didn't. He finished the chopping, and even told the mare he was leaving, despite the fact that he could have easily snuck off while she was embroiled in her own work.

"I'll tell the princess."

Stopping in his tracks, he slowly clenched his hand into a fist, letting it fall from the air and down to his side. Letting the whites of his knuckle show, he quietly growled to himself and turned around, sighing, before making his way back up the incline he'd just walked down.

Twilight was one thing, but Celestia didn't seem like a pushover. Not after what he'd read. The meat she'd promised him still hadn't arrived either, nor had Twilight confirmed that the princess had even sent him any. He didn't honestly know if it was fear or gluttony that compelled him to walk back towards Fluttershy, but his pride wouldn't accept it being anything except the latter.

As he walked back towards the work site, both hands now shoved into his trouser pockets, he passed the yellow mare that had been calling out to him. She had a stern look on her face, much unlike the smiles or shy expressions he'd seen before.

"It seems yer not as big a pushover as I first thought ye te be, little Fluttershy," he said, smiling as he marched passed, "Pity."

Unsure of whether to take what he said as a compliment or not, she instead chose to go fetch the saddlebag filled with food that she'd brought along with her. Perhaps if he had something to eat, he'd be in a better mood.

She hadn't intended to sound mean, but there was barely anypony to help as it was, and if he left, it would take the rest of them longer before they could go home. Barbossa was supposed to be being nice to her too, so saying she'd tell the princess wasn't completely uncalled for. She hoped.

Unrolling a blanket and placing it on the ground, she ushered the volunteers and Barbossa over, and after each of them sat down, she pushed a small, wicker box in front of each of them.

While the others simply opened the small boxes and ate their food, the captain looked at his, holding the box in both of his hands.

Eyeing with a curious gaze, he laid out on the grass before carefully opening it. He clicked at his teeth with his tongue, seeing that there was nothing but two sandwiches and a rather sizable, swirling pastry with icing, raisins and a cherry on top resting inside.

Frowning at his meal, he picked out the sandwiches and checked in between the slices, only to find his filling was a red jam in one, and nothing but butter in the other. Looking at the others, he felt somewhat cheated, as they appeared to have some sort of salad, as well as what could possibly have been cheese.

"Why did ye give me a child's fillin'?"

Sitting on her haunches, Fluttershy moved a hoof across the dirt, drawing little circles while the Time and Ditzy sat there, silently comparing their sandwiches to the pirate's.

"Well...I didn't know what you'd like to eat and I don't have any...any meat, so I used what I could. Pinkie made you a much bigger cake though..."

"Flowers?"

Once again looking at their sandwiches, and seeing that the filling was actually more flora than actual salad, he sighed and settled to eat his childish meal. It was better than nothing anyway. Taking a slice from each sandwich, he swapped the two around so that both were now filled with a mixture of fruit and butter; it was more interesting than the two apart.

After eating his two sandwiches in less than four bites, he moved onto the cake, which also seemed rather childish, despite its size. But then again, he'd never had cakes all that often, so he was pleased to be having it as a treat, if he was honest. They went out of taste that much quicker than most other foods, and if they got wet, they were less than pleasant to eat.

Biting into in to the cake, he savoured the first bite for a few moments. It was moist, sweet, and, actually, a rather a fine thing to eat. But still more or less happy to eat it in as few bites as possible, he was soon done with his small, yet somewhat filling meal. Although he was slightly surprised to see that the others had barely even eaten their sandwiches.

"You've finished? Already?" the grey mare asked.

"Aye, what of it?"

Barbossa knew he wasn't acting as pleasant as he had been, but the revelation that even Fluttershy had sway over him rattled in his mind. He'd get over it soon, just like everything else that had happened, but it didn't stop him being annoyed for the time being.

"N-nothing. Just thought I'd start a conversation."

Barbossa eyed the mare opposite him, still gnawing away at one of her sandwiches. He waited for Ditzy to try again before Turner spoke up in her steed.

"Would you have preferred something else? Fish?"

The brown stallion didn't know as much about animals as Fluttershy did, but he knew, at the very least, a lot of omnivorous creatures used fish as a mean source of meat in their diet. They ate most other meats, but seeing as Ditzy seemed a little anxious, he didn't fancy bringing up red or white meats.

The yellow mare sat next to Turner looked up from her food with a slight look of worry, letting her pupils switch between the brown pony and the human.

"Would have been preferable te jam."

"Any particular kind?"

Barbossa took a second to think, rather curious himself about the answer he would give. He had fish that often, it wasn't really something he adored to eat any more. It wasn't anything special, especially after over thirty years at sea.

"I be a man o' the ocean, Mr...Turner," the pirate finished, struggling to keep a stern face as he pictured young William as a horse, "All fish taste the same after it's the only food open te ye.'"

Not quite sure of what else to ask, the two ponies looked to Fluttershy for guidance, but when she merely shook her head, the three ponies continued with their picnic.

They talked amongst themselves occasionally, taking their time with their food, leaving their guest to his own devices. He just sat there, watching the world around him, before eventually choosing to lie down on the grass.

But when the ponies, after a little under an hour of eating and talking, finally finishing their food, the captain pushed himself off the ground as Fluttershy stood over him, motioning her head towards his next working location.

"You're eager," Time shouted over.

It wasn't so much being eager, but more wanting to have his work finished. He knew it wouldn't be hard, and it likely wouldn't be too arduous, so going about it with a more positive attitude couldn't hurt. Besides, after an hour of sitting around, simply looking at the sky, he didn't have much to complain about. Not yet, anyway.

"Aye. _Very_."

Bringing Barbossa over to the same table the others were on, Fluttershy began pointing and showing him how to sand the wood and make the homes. She made use of her teeth to tie and pull the rope, but the pirate couldn't help but think she wasn't bred for this kind of work. It all seemed rather basic to him, yet overly difficult for her.

"You take the rope, and tie it around two pieced like that. Then once you've made two of them, you put another pieces at the top, bottom and behind. Got that?"

The captain raised an eyebrow at her explanation. It seemed quite simple once he'd been shown what to do. Almost easy, in fact. The way she described made it sound overly complicated though, so he ignored most of it.

"What'll be the animals livin' in 'em?" he asked, curious, seeing as he'd never been told how big the things inside were going to be.

"Oh, this isn't the only kind we're making, these are just the kind I want you to build. We're making nests and ten larger homes too. And tomorrow I'm going to help dig some new burrows for those who don't want a home built for them."

"Yer goin' very far for some mindless, woodland creatures."

"They're not mindless. They need care and love just like anypony else. I'm just giving them a little help."

The pirate nodded before sitting on the ground, facing the table he was about to begin working on. She put too much work in to helping others, but that was hardly something he couldn't respect, even if just a little. She was apparently the bearer of kindness, after all.

She was like a relaxed nun or priest. She wasn't a complete push over, he'd discovered, but he couldn't see Fluttershy taking charge of anything for herself. If she did, there'd be more helpers here already. If anything that made her strength her weakness as well.

Letting her trot away, and after having fetched enough wood for himself, he got to work creating the homes. It took him considerably less time to make one than it did the ponies, but he put that down to his fingers more than anything else.

In the time that it took her to make one, and show him the ropes, he had almost made three. Not of very high quality, but he believed the tighter knots more than made up for it. Looking at the pile of wood to his side, he pushed the newest home across the table, picking up the next lot of wood.

It was going to be a while.

Eventually, two or three hours had passed, or so he assumed, and he was in the middle of the final wooden home. He had gotten better, but only during the last dozen or so. It didn't really matter how good they were, but the fact he'd almost finished made him feel rather proud of himself.

Tying the last knot and chipping a splinter of with his nail, he tossed it on to the pile with the rest, standing up as soon as it left his hands. The sun was still in the sky, but given how long he'd been there, he guessed it would be no more than a few hours before it set.

But then again, who knew? The princess could leave it there all night if she wanted too. Then again, the lunar princess would probably begin another rebellion if she did.

But the air was cool, and the slight breeze in the air all but confirmed the day was getting on, even if the sun wasn't.

Noticing the others were also near completion of their projects, he once again walked up to Fluttershy, ready to leave. However, this time, he played the game with a less arrogant look on his face, assuming it would play better in is favour.

"There. I've done yer houses. As many as the wood would allow, and to a desirable standard, I'm sure."

Realising what he was getting at, she shook her head.

"We have to wait until the animals move in. What if there's something wrong with a home and the poor dear can't fix it?"

The pirate sneered, turning around as he brought up his palms to rub his cheeks and forehead. Struggling to fight the enticing voice at the back of his head, the one eagerly informing him to just bugger off, he twisted his neck and turned back to Fluttershy, attempting to muster, what very few would consider, a smile.

"Can't ye handle that with the _other_ two," he struggled to mumble in the kindest voice he could manage, "I'm sure they'd be _more_ than willin' te help."

"But they're going in a minute; they've already stayed much longer than I originally asked. And I'd really appreciate it if you stayed. I'm sure Twilight and the princess would be proud of you too."

He couldn't tell if she was blackmailing him or genuinely trying to make him stay out of goodwill. But given the princess wanted him to choose his punishment, he doubted leaving would impress her. Plus, he still wanted something decadent and meaty to eat, and she was supplying it.

"_How _long?"

"Only forty minutes or so at the very most. After that you can go. I promise."

He nodded in return, begrudging accepting her terms, seeing as he now had a definite time to set his mind too. Still standing next to Fluttershy, he turned around as he heard the brown stallion clearing his throat.

"Well, it was nice meeting you Mr. Barbossa, but we have to be off. Places to be and all that," he chirped, looking up to the pirate with a cheeky grin on his face.

"Yeah, it...it was nice meeting you," Ditzy agreed, shining a weak smile as she looked down towards the ground.

Exchanging nothing more than a nod and a sociable wave, Barbossa watched the ponies leave the work site. He would have likely smiled at their leave, had he been in a better state of mind, but that couldn't be changed now.

Looking around the barren work area, apart from his own work table, the others had been put away, stacked up near where Barbossa had cut the timbers, as had most of the tools. Fluttershy was tending to the rest.

Deciding he had nothing better to be getting on with, Barbossa sat down on the grass and stretched his legs. The day had been long, and somewhat laborious, but at least he was free of the work now. Something could go wrong, but if it would only take forty minutes at the most, he didn't really care. He'd been there all day, and a little under an hour more wasn't going to kill him.

In retrospect, he'd made the day of crafting out to be much worse than it actually was. While it was far from what he'd call enjoyable, it was good to get his old muscles moving again. But everyone could say that about something they'd completed; hindsight was a wonderful thing like that. It was still a bloody pain while he was doing it.

Moving his focus back up to Fluttershy, the good captain looked around the landscape, searching for anything close to a small animal that would live in what he'd built. Needless to say, there weren't many.

"They know when to arrive? Ye train the animals te come at yer call?"

"I just sent a little bird of to get them. They'll all be here soon."

Unsure of whether to take the animals, or the ponies themselves, in this world seriously or not, he nodded in response and continued to sit there on the grass. He took many things with a pinch of salt these days. It made the things he read and saw easier to accept. After a few minutes of lounging on the green grass, Fluttershy came and sat next to him.

"Can I ask about Jack?"

The captain rolled his eyes, turning his head back towards the sky, before realising she likely meant his pet monkey rather than petty hate.

"If ye must."

"Have you had him long?"

"Over a decade at least. He were wi' me before we took the gold."

"Gold?"

Right, she wasn't there for Twilight's little episode. He found it surprising that the others hadn't told her about the curse, yet had chose to mention that he'd gave the unicorn a tattoo. Maybe they weren't going to tell her? He appreciated that, to an extent.

"Ask Miss Sparkle; I'm sure she'd tell ye if ye care enough te listen."

Not wanting to stop talking about something she thought she had in common with the pirate, Fluttershy tapped her hoof on the ground, trying to think of anything to keep him speaking with her.

"Does he do any tricks?"

Tilting his head in her direction, he let a curt smile rest on his lips, holding back a raspy chuckle as he stroked at his beard and chin. At least she was talking about something he liked for a change.

"He can't die. _Rather fine _trick if ye ask me."

Fluttershy didn't respond right away. Barbossa wondered if she'd even heard his response, but that thought was soon laid to rest.

"He...he can't die?" she reluctantly enquired, hesitantly looking into his eyes "_Really?_"

She clearly didn't believe him, but he continued to talk about it none the less. She'd believe him after talking to Twilight, or so he assumed.

"Aye. Cursed by the gods themselves. Mighty useful trait te have in a pet, 'specially when yer a man o' the open ocean."

"How so?"

"He don't need feedin', nor does he die if harmed in a crossfire. Plus he'll live as long as yer days, and longer still if he takes te ye properly."

"That must be nice."

"Havin' a faithful pet?"

"No, having a pet that can't die. It must be...nice."

Even Barbossa could tell the yellow pegasus at his side sounded sad. He was hardly sure, but with as many animals as she seemed accustomed too, more than one must have died in the past. Maybe even more than a few, if they were all wild.

"'Tis a fine thing, to be sure, but not without consequence. Eternal youth don't come without a shortage o' somethin' else, and the gold sacrifices feelin' te the one under it."

"Doesn't he mind?"

"He were the one who chose te take the curse after losin' it. I'd say he doesn't care."

"Is he a cute monkey?"

The captain raised an eyebrow, unsure of how to answer. Even if he did describe things as cute, he didn't know if Jack would still be considered so in this world, especially after everything he'd seen in it. Then again, both monkeys he'd owned had a charm to them. Polly would have to be classed as the cuter one though.

"He's a fair thing, but I wouldn't go callin' 'im cute, 'specially not when he's bein' seen durin' the night. Keeps me company though."

Wanting to follow up on Jack, somewhat intrigued to see a more pony side to the alien, Fluttershy was instead occupied by the small number of creatures coming through the various trees and up the hill. Watching the mare fly off to meet them, Barbossa stood up and slipped his hands into his pockets.

As the pegasus guided the animals into the different wooden structures they'd built, the captain watched from further back, somewhat melancholic about his situation. He did miss the little monkey. He'd never admit to how sad he actually felt, but he did miss the wee thing. Jack was grand company, and enjoyable to have around.

He missed a lot, now that he thought about it. Meat for one, as well as not being bound to so many rules and regulations. And animals that didn't talk back at him. And animals that weren't every colour under and over the rainbow.

But Jack was always here, at the back of his mind, reminding him that he was, once again, in a place the little monkey couldn't reach him.

But he'd get back soon. The pirate was sure of it. He could feel it in his bones. And as for the other problems, as bad as they were, he still had the meat to look forward too.

Not that he expected a lot of it, but it was something to look forward to, all the same. He liked having something to strive for, to look forward too. Even in his own world, it made the days feel better than they actually were.

Still absent-mindedly watching Fluttershy guide the animals into their respected hutched and pens, the man hesitated to smile as he saw that the mare was now trotting towards him with a smile on her own face.

"Not all the animals are happy to be in a new home, but the ones that are say they are very thankful. Especially the shrews."

"So I can _go_? Yer _pleased_ with me now?"

He didn't expect a 'no' as the answer, but he still wanted to ask. Even if she said no, there wasn't anything he could do about it. Hurting the most diffident being he'd met, in any world, likely wouldn't go down well for him.

"I know you didn't want to be here, and I know I said I'd tell the princess on you, but you could still have gone. I'm sure the princess wouldn't have put you in jail for not helping me here, but you still stayed. So...thank you for helping today."

Barbossa had some doubts as to whether Celestia would be as forgiving as the mare implied, but he'd only met the royal sister once, and Fluttershy did know her better than him. He still wanted to stay wary though, both based on his stomach and the books he'd been reading.

Watching as Fluttershy packed away the final table, somehow folding it away and placing it in a pile with the others, Barbossa made his way back down the incline he'd came up earlier that day, rather pleased to be going down it for the final time.

He still had to walk back to his temporary home, but it wasn't that long of a walk. If he walked at his normal pace, it wouldn't take much longer than twenty minutes.

Seeing Fluttershy flying towards him, Barbossa looked over his shoulder as the pegasus landed, quite shakily, at his side, cantering along the ground rather quickly before slowing to a walk.

"Ye leavin' the tables and tools?"

In his world, they'd likely be gone by now, becoming the thief's own possession or the lining to their pockets. But it would take two men to lift the table, so he didn't really think a pony could manage a whole one on their own, let alone three or four.

Though there was the big one from the farm. Or the unicorns.

"I only borrowed them. They'll get picked up later tonight."

Probably the unicorns. It would be awkward, at best, for two or three ponies to carry them down the hair and back to town.

"Thank you again for helping me today," Fluttershy said out of the blue, "I really do appreciate it."

"I were only doin' what I were told. It's best te learn when obeyin' an' order is the best course o' action, especially when yer in a situation the likes of mine."

Fluttershy smiled at him, hoping for a moment he hadn't seen her. Hector was greedy, mean, and eager to be insulting when could. He'd sent Rainbow to hospital, broke Twilight's ribs, and...revealed her own preferences to her unicorn friend as well, simply for the sake of doing so.

But he wasn't completely horrible at making up for it. So far, at the very least. She'd need time, but he wasn't a horrible soul. Far from it.

"If you say so, Hector," Fluttershy nodded, "If you say so."

**Author's Note:** Oh dear God, this is terrible! I uploaded this just under a month ago, but was being buggy at the time. It even confirmed the upload too :( But it's hear now, and the next chapter's due out soon, so I can only apologise for the wait.


	13. Dinner is Served

**Chapter 13: Dinner is Served**

The banging on the cellar door continued. Someone was shouting to him too. It was probably Twilight, like it always was, but Barbossa couldn't be bothered going the extra mile, especially after how tiring the day before had been.

Though, despite the work he'd done, the pirate didn't really feel the need to sleep. He didn't even feel tired. He just wanted an extra hour or so to himself for a change, rather than spending whatever waking moments he had with the ponies.

"Hector! Can you get up here?!"

Laying down on top on his dusty mattress, Barbossa rested his arms behind his head. As far as he was concerned, he had done an honourable duty with the task he had been set. He had sung to the children, given one of them a tattoo, and helped the skittish pegasus with her charity work.

And Barbossa was doubtful that Twilight and her friends had all that much faith in him to begin with, so he'd likely gone above their expectations as well. All in all, he'd made good on the princess's request, and as long as he stayed amiable, he wouldn't have to do much more work to keep his freedom.

The captain doubted he was completely finished with doing tasks for the horses, but at least he didn't have to worry about doing anything wrong. His previous victories likely held his security in place.

"I know it's early, but it's important!" Twilight yelled, still smacking her hooves against the bottom of the basement door.

But the pirate lay there in defiance, hoping the little unicorn would assume he was still asleep. If it really was as early as she implied, she'd probably leave him be. The ponies seemed like the kind of beings to do that.

Or maybe not. A long, drawn out creak echoed throughout the underground bedroom, and the unmistakable sound of hooves hitting wood followed soon after.

Twilight curiously peeked her head down from further up the stairs, looking straight into the eyes of her alien guest before pouting her lips.

"You _are_ awake! I've been shouting you for at least twenty minutes."

Barbossa just waved a hand in the air, letting out a curt laugh as he bounced off his makeshift bed and got up to his feet, wobbling slightly as he caught his balance.

"Have ye? If ye had, I _surely_ would have heard."

Twilight's pout didn't shift from her face. He'd been awake the entire time she'd been shouting him. Fully dressed too, spare for his hat, which he was currently in the process of putting back on top of his head.

"It doesn't matter. We got a letter from the princess; it's about you."

Satisfied with his hat and its placement, Barbossa nodded, and suddenly deciding the topic at hand was worthy of his time and interest, the pirate made his way up the awkwardly sized steps, moving past Twilight and out of the door that led to the library.

Arriving upstairs, and taking a glance around the room that welcomed him, Barbossa caught eyes with the rest of Twilight's brigade of six friends. The pink one just waved at him, bouncing and shifting around to get his attention, while Fluttershy gave a weak smile, bowing her head. Spike gave a quick wave too, albeit less enthusiastically than Pinkie had done.

None of the others gave him the same amount of courtesy. Applejack and Rarity shot him a sidelong glances from where they stood, but that was about it.

Grumbling, not lowering himself to greetings if they weren't willing to do the same, he lowered his head to Pinkie, Spike and Fluttershy in turn, before moving to the green sofa in the corner and sitting himself down, sinking into the cushions when his body landed upon the fabrics.

"I hear I'm needed?" he asked, crossing his legs over each other, and hoping one of the more sociable ponies would answer.

Pinkie nodded, bouncing over to him with a scroll in her mouth, speaking to him with the parchment still loosely held within her own jaw.

Not catching a single mumbled word, Barbossa sarcastically nodded and pulled the paper from her mouth, none too bothered by the saliva covering a small portion of it.

"_To My Faithful Student, Twilight Sparkle,_

_I request the presence of Captain Hector Barbossa, as well as you and your friends, at the castle as soon as you are able. We have good news for your resident alien, and much to discuss, and we feel having __everyone __present would make the ordeal easier to explain._

_I hope to see you within the day__._

_Princess Celestia__.__"_

Scratching his beard with one hand and holding the unravelled scroll within the other, the pirate allowed his brow to rise slightly. She wanted to see him. The princess herself. He didn't know what reason she had for summoning him on such short notice, but he certainly knew what he was hoping for, as well as what was most likely.

His hopes held even more truth in his eyes when he considered that he wasn't the one being visited. A summons implied he was _needed_ at the other end.

"I wonder what the princess wants?" Pinkie said, cocking her head to the side.

"Perhaps yer royal majesty has procured a way for me te leave this land," the human proclaimed, slapping the paper with the back of his hand, "About bloody time too."

Sticking her tongue out at him with a smile, Pinkie casually shrugged as Twilight came into view. She levitated the scroll from the pirate's grasp and opened it in front of her own face, apparently rereading it. Her eyes flickered back and forth before adjusting to face the man sitting opposite her.

"I don't know. She never really mentioned it in her letters; Luna was the one looking into it, and you haven't repaid everypony yet."

"Aye, but what's te say she hasn't simply found a way back?"

"What do you mean?"

"Yer princess don't seem te be dark hearted. And I doubt she'd have me stay in this world longer than I be needed."

"So you think she was going to send you home the first chance she got?"

"Ye catch on quick, purple pony. If I were goin' te be imprisoned and sent away at the first chance, why would she keep me longer still on pleasant grounds?"

That made sense. Twilight herself knew the captain was hardly enjoying himself, and sending him home at the first chance they got seemed like the fairest thing to do. Even if he hadn't helped everypony he was supposed to, he'd shown he was willing to do so. That was likely all that mattered.

"Well, we won't know until we see her."

"Then shall we get goin' then? I'd rather sate me curiosity than sit here dwellin' on it."

As everyone nodded, the ponies all made their way to the door. However, Barbossa stopped in front of Twilight before she could leave, crossing his arms and scrunching his forehead together. She moved to the side to get passed only for him to do the same.

"Yes, Hector?" she sighed, tiredly looking past him towards the door.

"Ye'll be getting' that book with me sword and pistol, Miss Sparkle. If I am te be leavin' yer world, I'll not be leavin' me things where I'm unlikely te see 'em again."

Twilight paused, realising that, in all the rush, she had actually forgotten Barbossa's confiscated weapons.

Asking Spike to fetch the book, Twilight patiently waited for it, and finding the correct page, levitated it into the air so the pirate could see for himself. His sword and pistol were still there just as they had been left, along with the lines Twilight had sliced to pieces during her demonstration, still chopped into pieces.

"I didn't want _proof_, I be wantin' 'em back."

The purple unicorn abruptly closed the book, letting it slam before she lowered it back into Spike's ready claws.

"And you _will_ get them back before you leave. I promise."

Fetching her saddlebag, and resting it over her back, Twilight lowered the book inside, kindly gesturing for Barbossa to move aside when she was done.

He didn't.

"And some o' yer pet's food, for me troubles, of course. I've been more than tolerable with yer antics, and it would be a nice farewell gift te yours truly."

"Why would you...you know what? Fine. Spike, _please_ get him some gemstones."

Sighing at the loss of his food, Spike moved over into the kitchen, disappearing for less than a minute before coming out with a small armful of gems. He didn't know how much he was meant to get, but he knew Twilight would replace his snack store eventually.

Walking up to Barbossa, Spike casually let his arms go limp, dropping the stones within his grasp onto the floor at the captain's feet.

"Why do you want gems?" Spike asked, somewhat curious as to why he had to give away his food to something that couldn't eat them.

"From what I read, in yer world, gemstones are a somewhat common artefact, yet in mine, they are most certainly not."

"You're going to sell them? They're not worth very much."

"Aye, not here, but they'll fetch _more_ than just a few pretty pennies where I come from."

Rather annoyed that the pirate was not only taking his food, but selling it for some sort of profit, Spike gave a meek growl before wandering outside with the rest of the group. Pirates were meant to steal gold and silver, not rubies and emeralds.

Picking up the assorted treasures, Barbossa took a brief glimpse at each new colour that entered his grasp, storing all of them within his coat soon after. He just smiled at how easy it was to actually get them.

He had planned to steal one, or twelve, when he had the time. But now that he was leaving, the experienced pirate was suitably happy that asking actually worked for a change.

"I have your things, and you have some gems. Can we go _now_?" Twilight said, making it sound more like a statement than an actual question.

Rather pleased with his new found bounty, Barbossa nodded and made his way out the door. The others were gathered around outside, and spare for a few other ponies wandering the streets, there was not another soul to be seen, which contrasted with the other times he'd been surrounded by every pony and their lover the second he stepped outside Twilight's front door.

"What time is it? Ye said it was early?"

"It's just gone half past nine, and the princess' letter arrived about half an hour go, so we have to make up for lost time."

He hardly thought half an hour was lost time worth reclaiming, but seeing as a way home was possibly waiting for him at the other end, Barbossa didn't want to bother commenting on it.

Though, now that he thought about it, the princess had yet to deliver his meat, so perhaps he was just going on this trek for a meal?

He _bloody well_ hoped not. As nice as it would be, getting his hopes up over a voyage home would hardly leave him in the best of moods. Especially when Celestia was making him drag his good self all the way over to the her castle.

And he didn't even know where that was. Twilight had mentioned the castle whenever she spoke of her past endeavours, and she referenced it more still whenever she could, but he couldn't recall where it actually was, or if she'd even told him at all.

"Where we goin', exactly?"

"Over there," Twilight said, pointing in the distance towards a mountain, "To Canterlot Castle."

Squinting his eyes, he focused on the sharp, craggy incline in the distance to see a castle cascading from its side. It was white, and judging by how big it was compared to the distance, quite large in size too. He wondered why he'd never stopped to notice it before.

He also ignored the name. The pirate had learned there was no point complaining about them since no one else thought they were strange. If anything, complaining made him look stupid by comparison.

"And how long's that goin' te take?"

"Two and a half hours on hoof, maybe just under two if we galloped the whole way there."

The pirate let out a small groan before scratching the back of his head. Then again, two hours was hardly a large amount of time to be on ones feet. He guessed he'd walked further in shorter amounts of time too.

Following the colourful group as they walked towards the edge of Ponyville, he looked around as what little residents that were outside carefully moved back as he approached.

He wasn't sure if he was accepted or feared, seeing as during the day, half the populace would crowd around him, whilst the other would hide in their homes. But if he was actually set to be leaving, then they could take his presence however they wanted.

Eventually reaching the edge of Ponyville, and passing over the small bridge that Barbossa assumed marked its entrance, the pirate looked to his side before realising something.

"Yer out o' yer chair, Rainbow! Ain't that nice?"

The cyan pegasus looked towards him for a moment before focusing her gaze back on the path ahead. She trotted forward with a limp, as if she'd sprained her ankle the day before, rather than actually breaking the bone.

"Yeah, no thanks to you."

Letting their short conversation fall in on itself, Barbossa didn't bother striking up anything else to say to her. He doubted she wanted to talk to him anyway. Most of the others were conversing with each other however, chatting about various subjects, some of which the masculine pirate didn't fancy getting into.

After another twenty minutes of savouring his personal silence, Pinkie Pie approached his side, moving away from Fluttershy and Spike to match his pace.

"I never threw you a party. I always throw parties when somepony new comes to town."

"Aye, well, I'll be leavin' soon. And unless ye had rum, I wouldnae have bothered comin' te the 'party' anyway."

"I could have got rum," she replied, trying to sound confident in her ability to find the beverage at such short notice, "Ooh, I could have got rum and raisin ice cream. Or made it into a cake for you."

"Iced cream?" he asked, frowning at his lost chance to actually have the delicacy of a dessert presented to him.

Twilight turned her head from her position at the front of the group to face Pinkie. The others had since started listening to the pink pony and the pirate's conversation as well, ever curious about how he answered whatever the party pony could think to ask.

"I don't think his race have the ability or the means to store ice yet, if what he's told me is true. They probably don't have ice cream either."

As she turned her head back to face forward, Pinkie continued on with her chat with the pirate, much to his own displeasure.

"You don't have ice cream?! Not even vanilla?!"

Barbossa eyed up Twilight from behind, none too caring for the assumptions she thought she could make.

"We _have_ iced cream, for yer information, Miss Sparkle. I've just never had the pleasure te eat it meself," he scowled back, receiving an appropriately guilty look from the unicorn in return.

Lowering her ears, as well as her head, Twilight cleared her throat before mumbling something apologetic under her breath, coming free of the conversation as Pinkie saw fit to change it.

"I've thrown everypony a party. Twilight, Fluttershy, me, Rainbow, Peculiar, Lyra, Bonbon, Ditzy, Rarity, Timey, Honeydew. Everypony except you."

"I'm not a pony. And ye can hold a special one with yer friends once I'm gone," he casually spat, hoping she would ease up on her yammering.

"What are your friends like?" she said before gasping, "What's your pirate crew like?! Are they all cool and swashbuckley? Are they all moody?"

The others were all looking towards him now. Fluttershy and Applejack had moved to walk at his side with Pinkie, while the others kept their formation in front of him. Even Rarity looked somewhat interested, as did Spike, who now sat on her back.

"Come on, Hector," Twilight asked, "I gave you some gems, just like you asked. And seeing as we might never see you again, you won't have to answer anything more after today. The least you could do is tell us about your friends."

The others nodded, especially Pinkie, but Barbossa focused on the fact that he _might_ never see them again. They'd likely not let up though, and seeing as he did now have a child's weight in gemstones resting in his pockets, the information was more than paid for.

"They be as good as any other crew."

"Is there anyone in particular who stands out?" Twilight asked, rather more interested in hearing a less vague answer.

"Joshamee Gibbs. He's very useful. Good man te have on a ship too."

Twilight sighed at his answer, still unsatisfied.

"What does he do? Is he fun to be with?"

"He's useful, Miss Sparkle. Most of the crew respect him, and he's a hard worker on deck. But yes, he has a knack for stories and legends."

Ready to ask more, Twilight was cut off as Pinkie excitedly jumped in instead. Happy to let her friend take control of the conversation, Twilight moved forward to let her to ask what she wanted.

She was somewhat curious as to what Pinkie, of all ponies, would try and ask too.

"Does anyone have an eye patch? Or a parrot on their shoulder?"

"Ragetti's missin' an eye, and Cotton had his tongue takin' from his mouth, so he has a parrot."

"What's its name?" Fluttershy said, hopping forward slightly.

"Cotton's parrot."

Unsure of how to follow that up, Fluttershy nodded and went back to simply listening. Pinkie quickly got back into the swing of things.

"Any peg leg pirates?"

"Not on my crew; they hold ye back."

As the walk towards the castle continued, so did the questions. He was definitely getting tired of Pinkie's questions. Talking about his life, that was something any man enjoyed, but she often enquired about the most trivial and random of issues, which ended up with him continuously saying yes or no for most of them.

"Can you get pink pirate ships?"

"No..."

He regretted dropping the name of his favoured ship now. Even after his explanation on style and pattern, as limited as it was, Pinkie still seemed to think that her own species' taste standards matched that of his own. Barbossa hardly considered himself cultured, but he at least hoped he had a grasp on what was considered garish or not.

"Not even a little rouge?"

Variety would have been favoured as well, but the ponies that spoke apparently had no intention of any deep minded questions, choosing to ask about his favourite this or funniest that.

In the end, he spent a good deal of the trip talking with them, finding little else he could do to make the time flow faster. It wasn't overly monotonous, and he'd told them of most of his crew in the process, but it definitely consumed the time it took to take the trip.

They eventually came close to what he assumed was another town, and coming from behind some trees, he once again saw the castle, though this time, it was much, much closer.

It was a sight to behold; white all over with barely a blemish. It was gloriously large too, and much bigger than he assumed it would be. It towered high into the clouds, and as much as he didn't want to admit it, it looked quite impressive. It was finer than the palace the King of England occupied at least, and it was more imposing too, standing tall and dominant over the city below it, like any ruler should rightly do.

He knew it was a city now, seeing as it was bigger than the small town he'd been living in. The ground was composed of mainly cobblestone and rock, unlike Ponyville's dirt roads and the buildings were of a much higher quality too.

They were made from mortar and brick, but most still kept the hay covered roofs that he'd become used to, though a good deal opted for thatched slate instead.

"This is Canterlot," Twilight said, waving her front hoof forward.

"_Canterlot," _he mumbled to himself, still very much loathing the ponies habit to name things after themselves, "Jesus Christ..."

He was growing tired of all the horse themed talk and names, as much as he'd come to accept it. Ponyville was laughable enough, but after days of 'everypony' and them constantly getting his body parts wrong, he was getting rather irritated.

At least humanity had the decency to name the world after what it was made from rather than themselves. Even their countries were named before the people living inside it. England and France came before any Englishmen or Frenchmen littered the land, or so he assured himself.

Continuing their walk through the city, he garnered a less than favourable response from passers by as he followed his equine entourage.

Unlike Ponyville, where most of the residents had attempted to be talkative, every creature he passed ran away. The males looked upon him from over their muzzles, while any mother with a child quickly scampered away to areas unseen.

Or, at least most of the ponies did them did.

"You there!" several voices hollered at once, catching the group of ponies, and especially their human, off guard.

Barbossa took a cautious step back, remembering he still had nothing except a knife to protect himself with. The voice had came from the direction of a crowd of horses, and each of them were clad in a set of pristine golden armour.

The crowd of eight equines marched towards the group, taking notice of the ponies and cautiously moving their eyes away from the creature that had their attention.

"It's okay, he's got a meeting with the princess," Twilight announced, walking up to the stallions as she gestured back to her otherworldly friend.

The stallions didn't move from their spot, still staring at Barbossa with a skeptical look on their faces, unsure whether Twilight's word was enough to go by. Even the one who led the group seemed less threatened and more curious about the creature they were investigating.

"If you ask Celestia, I'm more than positive she will tell you he is expected. And trustworthy."

Twilight's claim was hit back when she turned around, only to see the human growling towards another stallion stood in the street. Barbossa was hunched over, pushing a dark smile up onto his face while the grey unicorn kept a defensive stance, growling back.

"Then could you please tell..._him_, to stop growling at passers-by?" the foremost guard asked, still trying to keep both his eyes on the alien.

Twilight turned back to see the unknown male unicorn briskly trotting away, close to running as the captain crossed his arms into his chest and laughed.

"I think we'll just escort you, Twilight Sparkle," the guard declared with a smile, nodding towards the other stallions to make their way to the rear of the group.

Twilight reluctantly obliged, annoyed that she had to be escorted through her home city, but glad it got the issue of Hector out the way. It still annoyed her Celestia hadn't simply sent a chariot to take Barbossa to Canterlot, but the little unicorn knew from prior experience that they weren't used for every little thing the princess wanted them for.

But while Twilight focused on the trot to the castle, Barbossa eyed up the guards, staring worriedly at each of their identical features.

"Why'd ye all look the same?"

There were two guards behind him, with the rest surrounding the group in its entirety, so the pirate didn't have a specific one in mind when he asked.

"It's tradition for every solar guard to look the same," Twilight remarked, "It shows they are both loyal to serve under Celestia, and proud to wear her colours."

"They born the way they are?"

"No, if they have been welcomed to the guard, their armour turns them, and them alone, into what you see here."

Barbossa just looked back down at them, finding it rather bizarre that such a thing was applicable in their society.

"Right..." he said, not completely sold on the idea of changing appearance to suit a leader. A uniform, sure, that would acceptable, but changing what you are? It seemed a step too far above being a simple patriot.

Wandering through the rest of the city, passing a large number of ponies who crowded in the street simply to gawk at him, Barbossa saw it fit to growl and pull faces when appropriate, scaring them away.

Every now and then a stallion or mare chanced themselves getting a little too confident or cocky, scowling at the human, only to receive the same treatment back.

"Stop scaring the locals. Or next time we _will_ take you down, whether or not Twilight Sparkle is with you," the guard wandering behind Barbossa ordered, speaking with only a hint of anger in his voice.

Though Barbossa still did as he was told, he'd had his fill of scaring random ponies for now.

Soon after leaving the main streets of the city, and after being told once more to behave by a different guard, Barbossa soon stood at the castle doors. They were a good deal taller than him, and unlike many similar doors from his own world, these giants were not simply decorative. Surprisingly, when pushed in by six of the guards that had escorted him, the two, large doors moved effortlessly to the side, revealing a large entrance hall behind them.

The princess was already stood atop a set of stairs when they arrived, and unsurprisingly the others swiftly made their way up to her the moment they could their way past the guards.

Barbossa took his time heading towards the stairs, attempting a menacing glower as he walked past the guards who had told him off. Both stood emotionless for the most part, but the wary flickering of their eyes were enough to please the captain.

"Hello, Captain Barbossa. Are you well?"

Watching two of the hulking stallions close the doors behind him, the man absent-mindedly waved his hand in the air before replying. The princess had called him from the stairs where she stood, and Barbossa wandered forward towards her, seeing no reason not too.

"For now, but we'll see how this meetin' goes."

The princess laughed before elegantly raising a hoof to her mouth. The ponies and dragon stood below her didn't follow in her example, but they still smiled.

"Quite right, captain. I believe you should all come with me then, though we do have some time before I demand each of your company. And it _is_ nearing lunchtime."

Rather keen with the implication of the princess' words, Barbossa pushed his way up the smaller than average stairs, skipping two or three steps at a time as he made his way towards the mares at the top.

Though by the time he got there, all seven ponies were advancing down a hallway positioned just past the marble steps, as was Spike, who sat atop the largest equine's shoulders.

Slowing from his brisk paced walk to a slow one, Barbossa caught up to the group and lagged behind, taking in the corridors of the royal castle as he passed through them.

Much like literature, art wasn't something he really appreciated to its fullest, though Barbossa wasn't afraid to admit that a good few of the paintings and stained glass windows were definitely attractive to look at.

A lot of the sculptures seemed pleasing to his eyes too, but he reasoned that it was more due to the fact they were all made from rare gemstones and crystal, rather than because of how they looked.

Some of them were quite large, coming up to around the pirate's chest, but he was logical minded enough to know that even if he had his entire crew to assist him, he wouldn't get out with the things in his possession.

Mostly because there were far too many guards dotted around the palace corridors. There were other ponies too; beings the pirate assumed were the staff of the royalty living inside, but not very many wandered close to him, even with Celestia acting as his guide, but none outright ran away either.

Still mindlessly following his pony acquaintances and their benevolent princess, Barbossa nudged into Applejack's rear, only realising when he looked to the group that they had come to a stop. Celestia was looking straight towards him, as were the rest of the beings at her hooves.

"I believe that I promised you a meal, Captain Barbossa."

"I remember somethin' along those lines, aye," the captain answered back, only to see Celestia smile back at him.

"Well, our original plan was to have your meal sent to you while you stayed in Ponyville, but recent developments mean it would be impractical."

"Because you summoned us here?" Rainbow Dash butted in, asking before the pirate even got a chance.

"More or less. It would just be a waste to make your guest wait for one thing in Ponyville, whilst another in Canterlot."

"And what exactly _be_ waitin' for me in...Canterlot?"

The whole group turned to face the alicorn now, somewhat curious about the answer themselves. Her letter hadn't been too informative, to say the least. Though Celestia only smiled, not answering their question right away.

Instead, she opened the door to the room they had stopped in front, and ushered the group to follow her inside.

"My sister believes that she _may_ have found you a route of sorts back to your own world. Though, Captain Barbossa, I cannot stress enough how prone to change that 'may' might be."

That was...a start, Barbossa thought to himself. He was stood there, wishing for a definite way back to his own shores, but at the moment, a possibility was enough to keep him reasonably happy; it was better than no way back at all.

But despite his impulse to ask how she was going to go about sending him back, Celestia spoke first, nudging her head towards the table in front of her.

"Though I do believe a meal would be worth a while. You have all been walking for more than an hour or two."

Finally taking notice of the room they had wandered into, Barbossa looked to where the royal mare was pointing before smiling to himself. The room itself was impressively large, and clearly a dining room. The walls were covered with ornaments of gold, as well as other fine materials and several large paintings.

The table in the middle of the banquet hall was a fine sight to behold. The table was dressed as elegantly as the room it was in, stretching from one end to the other. But it was the large array of food visible at the opposite side that brought a grin to the captain's face, not the covers or candles.

"I promised you a small portion of meat, and I am a mare of my word, if nothing else," she said, graciously winking to the human as she walked past, "though I hope you'll excuse me if it is not your taste. The griffin I asked for advice eats meat _far_ more often than I ever have."

Barbossa allowed himself to smile at the joke, though most of the ponies behind them didn't do the same.

Twilight shared an awkward glance with her friends, while Spike shook the thought from his head. The little dragon wasn't as bothered by the idea of a meat eater as his friends, but his upbringing still made the thought unsettle his stomach.

"But I must confess the meat you will be eating is being served cold. You have a selection to choose from, but seeing as we are all eating together, I didn't wish for the smell to affect our appetites. You may be an omnivore, but you are still in our country."

Barbossa let a small sound emanate from his throat, something in-between a groan and a sigh of acceptance. He had meat, and that was good enough, given he would be sat with sentient horses while he at it. Which, admittedly, wasn't something he had expected to happen during his lifetime. Or anyone's lifetime, for that matter.

Waltzing up along side the table, taking notice of the huge number of chairs he was passing, Barbossa took a good look towards the pinnacle of the table.

Every chair was a good deal smaller than he was used to; each one looked fit for a child, much like every other piece of furniture in the ponies' world.

Though while enough chairs were around for is smaller allies, a much bigger chair sat at the table's peak, obviously for the largest mare in the group. Watching her sit down, letting Spike crawl from her back beforehand, Barbossa watched as she motioned to the chair next to her.

It was just as large as her own, and appeared similar in design too, thought he only assumed it was of a matching set, seeing as his frame wouldn't exactly do well on the seats the ponies were to occupy.

The pirate sat to Celestia's left, taking a moment to look to his own left, curious as to whom had been placed next to him. Though it appeared only he, Spike and Celestia had pre-determined seating.

The middle of the table itself was decorated and glorified with a selection of salads, vegetables, and an array of other edible items the pirate couldn't place. Though he did quickly notice, that while the mares all shared the spread in the middle, both he and Spike had an extra selection of delicacies to choose from.

Spike had a small selection of gems and sparkling rocks in front, decorating a shining, silver tray, but it was the one opposite the captain himself that interested him. In front of Barbossa was an another silver platter, and on top was a decent selection of cold meats set in small, even piles. From sight alone, he could tell at least one of them was chicken or turkey, while another appeared to be a small, neatly layered, stack of ham.

It was safe to say all of the meats were sliced, though some were cut thinner than others. There were five meats in all, and while he couldn't rightly tell without taste, he had a good idea of what each one was.

Looking up from his future meal, Barbossa took a second of pause, realizing everyone at the table was staring at him. Though much to his own expectations, their looks were more of curiosity than disgust, especially Celestia, who seemed inclined to find out whether her choice was actually something the pirate would want.

"Uh..." was all he awkwardly mumbled, reaching out to grab a slice of ham, and what he assumed was beef, from the top of their piles, before reaching over and taking hold of some lettuce, sliced tomato and buttered slices of bread.

Making a loose sandwich from what he had, leaving the beef on his plate, Barbossa took a rather large bite from what he'd made, still rather ill at ease with everyone looking at him.

He couldn't deny the meat was good though. The ham was sliced, but still thick enough to retain some form of chewiness, and the greenery wasn't too bad either; the lettuce was crispy, and the tomato was as juicy as any other he'd eaten.

Taking another look around the table, the only other creature attempting to eat was Celestia, seemingly pleased that her new guest enjoyed what she'd managed to procure for him.

Twilight was just staring at him with a somewhat pained expression, as if she'd seen or smelt something that didn't agree with her senses, while the others held something between displeasure and curiosity in their eyes, if such a thing existed. Pinkie was doing her own thing. She just looked at him with a giddily happy expression, rubbing her stomach and nodding her head. It was then that Celestia swallowed her current mouthful, clearing her throat to address her subjects.

"Is something wrong?" the white mare asked, not sounding completely innocent with her question. She was met with Twilight turning her head down towards her own plate, and the others, spare for Pinkie, doing something along the same lines.

"It just feels..." Twilight began, "_unusual_, to be sitting near an omnivore while they're..."

"Actually eating meat?" Celestia replied, watching as all the mares nodded, except for Pinkie Pie.

"Well...yes, to be honest."

Despite the atmosphere, and the focus it had on him, Barbossa picked up his slice of beef, pulling it apart with his fingers before placing it on another slice of bread, along with some carrot slices.

"Does it make you ill?" Celestia said, rather bluntly as Barbossa picked another few slices from his platter, deciding to continue with his meal before the alicorn teacher's morality lesson got him sent outside.

"N-not really," Fluttershy said, stepping into the conversation, "I know animals eat meat. It just feels strange knowing one's being...eaten next to me."

"Yeah, I mean, I used to hang out with a lot of griffins, but most of them ate with each other, rather with us," Rainbow added, "It's just...weird to see it."

Celestia looked over those who hadn't answered her question, surmising by the nodding that they all shared a similar view on the idea. Not that she didn't understand. She'd just had a lot more time to accept the fact for what it was.

"Well, I can assure you that the meats Captain Barbossa is eating were reared specifically to be eaten, and didn't suffer when or before their time ended. If it was not for our otherworldly guest eating them, another would have done so in his place," she said, sounding calm, and clear, despite the topic being discussed.

Still trying to enjoy his meal, before anything could go wrong to pull him away from it, Barbossa continued to gather a variety of vegetables and salad dishes to go with what he had. He was no connoisseur of fine cuisine, but he knew what he liked, and he knew what he liked to go with what he liked.

"And he's eating vegetables too," she said, pointing to the captain as he paused to look up at her. holding a quarter of a cucumber in his hand, "Granted, he's being _very_ greedy with his meal, but if you don't concentrate on the issue, eventually it stops being one at all."

The mares reluctantly giggled at the princess's mild insult, much to the chagrin of Barbossa himself, but he was happy enough to let it go. He was actually enjoying his meal, despite everything being cold.

But after Celestia had finished her speech on social, and mealtime etiquette, Barbossa suddenly remembered how he had things of his own to say. Swallowing his mouthful of potatoes and turkey, which was slightly too dry for his taste, the pirate moved for more bread as he spoke.

"Ye were sayin' about me way back?"

"Ah, yes. My sister was the one in charge of finding you a way home. Though, for the first few days, she made little to no progress with creating a way for you to travel."

"Then what changed?" the pirate asked back, tearing the bread he had in his hand with his teeth, bypassing whatever table manners the mares were currently following.

"She actually found the portal you originally came through. Teleporting is hard enough, Captain Barbossa, without knowing exactly where it is you want to go."

Celestia looked out towards Twilight, and following the princess's line of sight, the pirate saw the little unicorn eagerly nod in agreement.

"Travelling between worlds seemingly has the same principle, according to Luna. You need to know the other end before going there. If you don't, you could end up anywhere, which would be a problem if you ended up somewhere more alien to you than our world."

Barbossa could sense the princess was trying to make a joke out of it, so he smiled in return, hoping to keep the conversation on track. The others had started to eat their meal, albeit slowly, though they all listened to their princess while she spoke.

"After failing to find a spell to recreate the portal you came through, Luna devised a plan to find the original. Spells to create a gateway of the kind you need are apparently all but unheard of, yet there does exist a spell that lets an extremely competent user reactivate an older one."

Celestia paused to pour herself a drink, finishing it before continuing with her explanation.

"It took a great deal of effort on our part, as well as locating and creating newer spells to allow the old one to work, but we eventually did reactivate it."

"Then why are we 'ere and not in the forest?"

"In order to reactivate the gateway, the spell needed much longer to cast than we originally thought. In the end, we found a surprisingly easy way to move the portal here to Canterlot so Luna could work on it without prying eyes, though in doing so, we fear we may have moved the portal in your world, as well as our own."

"And I be guessin' that's where the '_may_' comes from?"

"Of course. But I believe we can talk about this freely after our meal. Luna knows much more about the situation than I do, and I'm sure she'll be more than happy to explain everything herself when you meet her."

For once, Barbossa agreed. What he was being told was good enough for his ears, and as much as he wanted to get going, he didn't want to risk falling into the dark abyss above the world's end. The crew were surely long gone from the Locker by now, which wouldn't bode well if he were to end up in Jones' prison on his own, with no man or map to help or guide him.

But the meal went on regardless of Barbossa's inner musings. He ate his meat, and most of the ponies attempted to eat their own food while he did so, with varying levels of success. Pinkie didn't seem to mind, but the pirate couldn't comment on the rest of them.

Savouring his food for a while longer than the others seemed to, Barbossa eventually did declare himself finished. He enjoyed a good meal when it was thrown his way, and it wasn't often that royalty was the one feeding him. Noticing Barbossa had finally eaten his own weight in food, Celestia stood to look over the menagerie of creatures sat in her banquet hall.

"While your new friend's route home was the main reason I called you here, there is also something else that needs to be discussed."

The ponies got up from their low chairs and onto their hooves, while Barbossa did the same.

"Though I am afraid this matter is something I'd rather not get you involved with, Captain Barbossa. For now, at least."

He stood still, only halfway out from his chair. Looking at Celestia, he creased his brow, throwing the princess a suspicious glare.

"Rest assured, we are not leaving you, nor are we abandoning you. There is just something I require the Elements for, and although you are a friend, it is still something few are privy too. But you are welcome to stay in here and help yourself to more food. And we won't be longer than twenty minutes, if all goes well."

Sighing to himself, Barbossa dropped himself back into his chair, nodding towards the mares and waving his hand mindlessly towards the door, "If ye must."

The princess nodded at his approval, though the captain suspected it wasn't necessarily needed. If this was so important, they would have likely left without his consent. All the beings made their way down to the other end of the room, eventually piling out the door as a group, but not before Pinkie could squeal, "See you later Barby!" from just beyond the doorway itself.

Cringing at his apparent nickname, Barbossa waved his hand absent-mindedly in the air, not really minding if Pinkie saw the gesture or not. Her voice barely reached his ear, so he doubted she'd hear a reply.

And like that, he was alone.

Taking a gander over what was left of the banquet, Barbossa licked his lips at the sight of two green apples, which sat rejected amongst bananas and pears by the ponies that had just left.

"Maybe it ain't all bad," he mumbled in the silence whilst reaching out to them, placing one in his outer jacket pocket before struggling to find space for the other.

Taking a brief glance around the grand hall, and to the various artefacts that lined it's perimeter, he pushed himself from his chair and towards the nearest wall, hoping something would suffice until Celestia returned.

He remained calm in the knowledge he didn't have to steal anything, for a change. Even if he wasn't in his own world, the gems lining his pockets were bounty enough. Robbing a royal family seemed idiotic, in retrospect.

Hearing the clatter of a window, Barbossa looked towards the roof, and its massive skylight, before turning back to the room he was wandering. Paintings were dotted around the hall, as were nameplates, dates and description for said paintings, so he deduced he'd found something to pass the time.

Looking to the half a dozen or so portraits he passed, reading the brief plaques underneath as he went, the captain eventually stopped in front of one in particular, rather more interested with it than the others.

It portrayed a bright, pink pony, who, much like Celestia, had both a horn and a set of wings adorning her sides. But while the creature was pink, she handled the scheme much less garishly than Pinkie did, assuming it was a female. However, it was the small plaque underneath that caught the pirate's attention.

"Princess Mi Amore Cadenza?" was written below the painting, though Barbossa knew it's rough meaning; "Princess I love everythin'?"

Focusing his eyes on the Italian name, sure it was actually Italian, Barbossa moved on to the next painting, deciding the he could ask the princess, and impress Twilight with his knowledge, when they got back.

"Ye'd think royal ponies would have less boastful names," he whispered to no one in particular, only realising how insane the comment was after it left his lips, "They're gettin' te me..."

Once again hearing a clatter, this time inside the room itself, Barbossa turned his head to face it. Nothing was there though. He couldn't pinpoint the source, or what had actually made the noise.

"I _completely_ agree. Though you have to admit, the whole idea of theme naming does work out rather well for the rest of us."

Once again turning on the spot, standing parallel to the hall to keep guard on both ends, the pirate growled at the sight that met him.

Nothing.

There was still nothing.

Thinking back, that was always the worst sight to see when someone was talking to you; it usually meant there was an ambush, or something worse if fate wasn't looking down on you. Barbossa even turned to view the paintings for a brief moment, cautious in case something was suddenly going to jump at him; it made as much sense as anything else he'd seen.

But there still wasn't anything worth seeing to see.

"Oh, don't be so ridiculous; I'm not going to jump out of a painting. That's much too predictable," the voice rang out, coming from not one spot in the hall, but rather all of them at once.

Barbossa was losing his patience now; whatever was talking to him was trying to create havoc with his mind. Much more so because he couldn't decide on whether the voice was a threat or not, but even with the kind nature of the ponies, he had his doubts.

"But you!" the voice bellowed, fading into cackling, maniacal laughter, "I don't know what I was expecting to find when I got here, but it certainly wasn't something like you."

Gritting his teeth, Barbossa stood his ground, reminding himself where the door was in case the situation demanded it. His walk had brought it him much closer to it than he had been, and no more than a few dozen meters could stand between the buccaneer and a possible exit. Looking over the walls, the ceiling and skylight, as well as double checking the paintings from where he stood, the captain looked for anything similar to a living being. The lack of one didn't make him feel any better.

"But it isn't like Celestia and little Luna gave me much to go on, after all. I'm just surprised you lived long enough to actually get inside the castle."

"Show yersel'!" the captain yelled in retort, still waiting for whoever the coward was to show himself, for the voice was most definitely a male one.

"But it all worked out for the best, I suppose. Freedom is quite a gift when it wasn't even thought possible in the first place," the voice said, "And I'd empty your pockets, if I were you; it's rather cluttered in here."

Pausing what little movement he was doing, Barbossa looked down towards his torso, raising his arms into the air. Holding his stance for little more than a second, the feel of life wriggling at his chest and it's unnatural vibrations was enough for the captain to decree pulling the jacket free from his body a worthy cause.

Not accounting for all the gems still inside, as well as a few more of his previously owned artefacts, the pirate looked from above as a few of his belongings spread to the floor around the long coat.

Mentally berating himself for throwing most of his belongings on the floor, the movement he had previously felt began to show sign of itself. A little pouch was squirming around next to his jacket's left sleeve, and the golden coin inside was pushing itself out.

"Oh, this is such a disappointment now that I actually have it. I still love the design on the front though. Very archaic."

Looming over the coin, and the voice emanating from within, Barbossa bent down to examine it, tapping the doubloon with his knuckles before picking it up.

Holding it between his thumb and forefinger, Barbossa watched as the face embedded in the gold began to smile, moving it's skeletal jaw, and matching the voice coming from inside.

"A tad small too, though I do suppose it is a book you can't judge by it's cover. Isn't that right, captain?"

Honestly praying that sanity had yet to leave his sense, and not quite sure what to do, the pirate tossed the cursed medallion on to the floor, letting it collide with the stone before slamming the heel of his shoe on top.

Moving to look over the medallion once more, Barbossa couldn't hold back a flinch when it flew straight it to the air, stopping in front of his face, only to dance around, spinning and gyrating around an invisible axis.

"Here I thought you were a greedy, nefarious pirate, yet here you are, scared of a little, gilded coin," the coin once again said, before a form began to appear in the air behind it, "Rather spoils the whole pirate thing, don't you think?"

The being took its time appearing, but the first limb to materialise failed to match the next, as a claw blinked into existence, along with a coated leg and hoof. The rest followed soon after, and with a final pop of the air, a new being floated eerily in the room with the human pirate, still spinning the coin between an unnaturally bright, yellow paw.

"Though it's a shame it doesn't want to work properly. I was getting so excited for a while there too. Still, a spit and polish surely couldn't do it any harm."

The creature was mismatched, and bizarre, yet there were still limbs the pirate could place. A bat's wing hung from the beings back, and what he could only assume to be a horse's head sat atop its overly long torso.

"Chimeras now?" Barbossa mumbled, eyeing the being over without trying to show a hint of fear, despite the rising feeling of panic he felt in his stomach.

The creature took it's time responding, blinking down towards the captain with its big, yellow eyes and beady, red pupils.

"I _do_ hope that isn't an insult. I prefer the term, _draconequus," _the creature said, ending the final word with a flair of his hands and a small explosion of coloured paper.

Barbossa couldn't care less what the 'dragon horse' wanted to be called, as long as it wasn't a threat. Though despite the childish exterior, the pirate couldn't help but wonder how wrong this was going to turn out. The being didn't strike the pirate as someone he would want to strike an alliance with.

"And what it is it ye want, dragon horse? Assumin' ye came wi' an intention in mind," the pirate asked, using the surprisingly civil conversion to return his jacket to it's rightful place, along with what used to be inside.

"My name is Discord, not dragon horse. But I thought I'd just come and see you before you left for home. Back to your own shores, as it were," he explained, only to be met with a crooked glare, courtesy of the pirate.

"I find meself doubtin' that."

A quick glance down towards the door emphasized the captain's point, though much to the ignorance of the being floating impossibly before him.

"I've even brought you a gift," the creature exclaimed, clicking his talons, "I just couldn't stand by and do nothing after hearing how much you loved your treasure."

Despite the flaky nature of the being's argument, Barbossa let his jaw drop as a heap of golden coins hit the ground, spreading here and there when they all made contact with marbled floor. His heart, soul, and a good deal of his very being driving him to do otherwise, Barbossa did no more than hold a hand out towards the mountains of gold, pulling it back when his priorities spoke for themselves.

"Look at all of this treasure."

"All o' it..." Barbossa subconscious uttered out, surprised he had said it at all.

And as if to meld the pirate's mind into turning, more coins continued to appear, pouring from a single, empty, invisible void next to the dragon horse. A steady stream of shining gold, just falling to the ground, chiming as each trinket made contact with the mound already below it.

"It could be yours, you know. I mean, I certainly don't have any use for it."

"...Aye..."

His life had been full of hidden treasures, and many more stolen ones, but even his time as an undead monument to the curse of Cortés hadn't yielded a single mountain of doubloons the size in front of him. And it was still increasing.

"Quite the bounty too, wouldn't you agree?"

Every second Barbossa stood there, thinking, watching, rethinking and looking over the creature bargaining with him, the mountainous pile of wealth was growing larger and larger. And the little voice singing at the back of the pirate's mind was getting louder with it, as was the feeling in his heart; take it. He could hear it so clearly, as if it were really there.

_Take the gold!_

But...

"I am a slave te greed, no longer," was all Barbossa replied, hoping for the love of God he was making the right choice.

Discord leaned back into the air, feeling the armchair that didn't exist contort perfectly to his body. It didn't matter how he sat, as long as it was done with an air of flair and random confusion. And on something invisible.

"Are you _sure_?" Discord questioned, once again clicking his talons together, holding his eyes closed with a confident smile on his face.

The fountains of gold continued to flow, as more and more spurt from the fabric of the world, tearing at the air throughout the dining room, and forcing itself into the tangible reality. The doubloons sang in a mismatched chorus as each of them chimed against themselves and any surface they seemed to hit.

Bribery was something Barbossa enjoyed when directed his way. It opened new doors, closed old ones, and held no ill consequences for him whatsoever. Most of the time. But bribery only worked when the offer toppled any older ones. And as it stood, the captain saw no such thing in front of him. His perception of the being in front of him had been secured too, whether said being liked it or not.

And the medallion, still spinning in the beings grasp. How could he make the same mistake again, when the memory of the past was still floating right in front of him?

"And if I were te take yer _gift_, how, pray tell, de ye expect me te take this hoard back wi' me? Yer offer ain't been implied, but already yer losin' yer chances."

It was also best to keep calm, even if the situation was teetering on the edge of comprehension. Then again, Barbossa considered his threshold thoroughly widened, given what he'd seen during his life.

Though the last week had made him much more accepting of new impossibilities, to say the least.

"Oh, I never said you were _leaving_ with the gold."

The captain took a cautious, and well desired, step backwards as he subconsciously reached down towards his missing sword, "What happened te yer farewell gift."

"No, no. I _implied_ it was a farewell gift. You merely let your mind wander. I mean, really, what use could you possibly be if you weren't even here?"

Another step backwards seemed like a safe bet to the captain. The door was far away as it was, and any head start wouldn't be looked down upon. And Barbossa was more than positive the chimera wasn't an ally now, if he ever had the chance of being one.

"Then again, I assumed you'd be willing enough to accept my offer of riches. Somepony else certainly did."

Moving his hand from his waist, the pirate rummages through his coat, hoping the vague idea he had forming in his head would work half as well as he imagined it would.

"As generous as yer offer is, I'm afraid there'll be no accord on me own side, Discord."

And with his sentence finished, Barbossa pulled at one of the many gemstones buried within his jacket, and Discord watched as the sparkling jewel flew up into the air by the power of the aliens arms and, following the rather laborious rules of the universe, fell back towards the ground. The human who threw it, however, was well on his way towards the door, running fruitlessly away from the god behind him.

Discord sighed, partially because he fell for such a basic tactic, but mostly because such a basic tactic had been used in the first place.

"I'm not entirely sure why I had high hopes for you," Discord announced with a dramatic wave of his paw, tossing the coin into his talons, "To be honest, I assumed you'd have something a little more crafty up your sleeve."

Barbossa got himself to the door, not truly expecting to get there at all, and pushed his hand towards the exit, reaching out for the handle.

But the door wasn't there. His hand met nothing that he expected, and rather than wood, or even metal, the pirate's skin met the wall itself. Focusing his eyes, and hoping his plan wasn't a total failure, Barbossa found the air leave his lungs as he looked up to a crude painting of what should have been his exit.

"Of course, it isn't completely fair, having you against me. You don't even know who I am," Discord's voice said, echoing throughout the room before finally appearing in a bright flash of limelight.

Barbossa clenched his fist, digging his nails into the skin of his palm, not wanting to admit to himself that he wasn't faring too well without the ponies nearby. He didn't even know if they'd be of help to him, but seeing as they were the only allies he had in this world, they were the only beings that he hoped could.

Reminded they weren't actually with him, the pirate captain knelt to his knee before sliding his hand in his boot, swiftly pulling out his blade and hiding it beneath his sleeve, despite there not actually being a real need to hide it.

Standing back to his full height, Barbossa froze as he came eye to eye with Discord, his eyelids half closed and both of his scruffy, alabaster eyebrows confidently raised above them. The sudden twinge of the lion's paw pushing against his chest didn't better the pirate's resolve on what he wanted to do.

"I suppose you _regret_ leaving the gold?" the chimera smugly teased, poking the pirate harder in the chest with the same expression and smile on his face.

Then Discord flinched back, concentrating for a moment as to why he'd flinched. Opening his eyes, the god of chaos looked back at the pirate, following his line of sight, eventually coming to stare at his hand, and the knife that Barbossa held within it. The knife lay half buried in Discord's neck, twisted ever so slightly to the side, drawing nothing except a short lived sigh from the draconequus himself.

"Not the most novel way of trying to kill me, but I've seen others try worse."

Barbossa pushed himself further back against the door, half hoping the wall behind him would miraculously give way, he threw a punch out towards the creature in a rash attempt at turning the situation around. The hit landed, but it did no more damage than the knife, or any less, as it appeared; the creature moved only as much as the punch made him, and any pain was far from evident, if he felt it at all.

Barbossa couldn't help but notice the harsh irony; him standing before an immortal being with a knife sticking out from his body, when he had been on the other end of the situation not under a year ago.

"I ain't the only thing in this castle, and ye ain't goin' te make me stay, not for any amount o' gold!"

"Oh, you're being such a baby about all of this," Discord nodded, tapping the pirate on his forehead, "But that's okay; I can fix all that. You just need a fresh outlook on life. A new goal to strive for."

Spinning the coin between his talons and their knuckles, Discord flipped the medallion into the air, catching it in his paw before closing his eyes with it tight in his grasp, feeling an unusual strain of magic above his own.

Squeezing his grip slightly tighter, the god hovering above Barbossa cleared his throat, shivering as he let a tiny puff of air escaped his lips.

"Oh, that'll do for now," he decided, frowning at the medallion as it refused to change completely under his will, "It's not as fun a I'd thought it would be anyway."

Once again tossing the coin in the air, letting it fall towards the ground below, Discord watched with glee as Barbossa reached out his hand, clutching the doubloon mid fall.

Eyeing up the cursed medallion in his hand, the pirate moved his eyes lazily over the treasure he held, creasing his face into a wicked smile and clutching it tightly between his fingers.

Then Barbossa began to laugh.


	14. The Medallion Calls

**Chapter 14: The Medallion Calls**

The six ponies continued to follow their princess through the halls of Canterlot castle, leaving the banquet hall and the very un-ponylike pirate in their wake. It hardly seemed fair, making him wait on his own in a vast, empty room on his own. Even if he didn't seem like the kind of creature to get upset by such a thing.

Then again, it probably only seemed unfair because whatever they were leaving to accomplish obviously involved him in some way; why else would Hector be denied access to it now, but possibly have the right at a later time?

"Princess, what exactly is it you wanted to talk to us about?"

Twilight finally spoke out, breaking the relative silence that had dominated the last few minutes of the walk. The celestial mare only smiled in response, briefly looking down at her student with a warm glow stretching over her muzzle.

"I understand this is all rather unorthodox, but this is something I'm not sure I would like Captain Barbossa to know. At least, not quite yet. I don't think he has the most positive view on our society, and this may not make him any happier. If I can avoid it, I'd rather he left us with fonder memories instead of resentful ones."

"Is... there a problem with getting him home?"

The others stared at Pinkie, rather surprised she of all ponies was the one to breach what could potentially turn out to be a sensitive topic. Celestia just shook her head at the mare.

"On the contrary," Celestia said with an upbeat tone, "As I said before, Luna believes she has found a way home for him. She's even completing some of the final preparations as we speak. But given the circumstances that brought us the good fortune to meet Captain Barbossa, we both thought it a suitable time inform you of certain truths surrounding his arrival."

Twilight raised her eyebrow.

"Certain... truths?" she repeated as she flexed her shoulders, shifting her saddlebag around on her back until she was comfortable with it again.

Not divulging anything more to the little ponies, Celestia kept herself silent, continuing down the stretching maze of corridors and halls until she came upon an old, purple set of double doors.

While they had the same basic design and appearance to most other doors situated around the castle, this set also had the added charm of having some engravings carved into the door. Runes of varying styles and sizes decorated the rim, as did the odd simplistic carving of a pony depicted in what appeared to be a defensive stance. Time hadn't treated it as well as most other doors, however, as while it stood tall, it was weathered by the passing of time.

Standing in front of the door beside their princess, the group waited for whatever it was they were meant to be waiting for, when the door began to slowly creak and screech itself open. Celestia still stood there, watching in concentration as the door opened further and further until it stood weak, yet proud, with both entranceways wide open.

"I don't think I've even been down this end of the castle before, princess," Twilight joked, peering through the doors in front of her.

"That's because this area of the castle doesn't exist."

The others looked up to face Celestia, while Spike looked down from over the princess's shoulder and Twilight titled her head back, realising what her mentor had actually said.

"What?" Spike muttered, trying not to scratch the princess as he climbed down her side and onto the floor at her hooves.

"This area of the castle is locked away from the rest of the waking world. What we store here isn't necessarily meant to be seen by the general public. Blurring its location from reality seemed like the most appropriate solution at the time."

"So... it's, like, top secret?" asked Rainbow with a blooming smile, which was met by a brief chuckle from Celestia herself.

"Not really, Rainbow Dash. Back when this room was chosen to store what we now keep inside, we had different beliefs about what said things actually were. If ponies were to find out in this day and age, it wouldn't be something we had to hide, but some things are better left forgotten."

Casually making her way through the doorway, Celestia sauntered to the centre of the room itself, allowing the Elements and Spike to follow behind. Twilight eagerly trotted alongside her mentor, striding past as her friends took a less zealous approach and cantered at their leisure, taking in the sites that met them.

The room they entered also wasn't what they expected. Unlike the door, the room appeared new, gleaming and shining. A patterned floor made up from black and white square tiles of marble, and the walls were painted a faint shade of lilac with a decorative vines of darker purple etched and flowing across its entirety.

The room was also furnished with objects. Strange in their design and appearance, with larger ones taking up space at various, yet organised points on the floor. Smaller ones also littered the room, albeit sat atop appropriately sized pedestals.

Moving into the middle of the new room, Twilight let her eyes wander, as did the rest of her friends. It was strange, all the things they were staring at. While the room itself was clean and well organised, some of the objects couldn't be described as the same. Some were heavily damaged, and others looks broken and dead beyond repair.

"Is this..." Rainbow uttered, twisting her head to stare at one of the larger items on display, "a museum?"

She hated museums. She could feel herself growing less and less willing to stand on her own four hooves right then and there. Rainbow only came out of her lazy stupor thanks to a kick to one of her shins, courtesy of the ever friendly Rarity.

"I suppose, " the princess said, briefly laughing once again, "Our initial intention was to store these things neatly and out of the way, but it has come to like a museum, hasn't it?"

As the others continued their look around the museum that wasn't quite a museum, Twilight jumped around from exhibit to exhibit, practically forcing her muzzle against some of the bigger items on display in the room, even if there was only three of them.

"Princess, what's this?" Twilight said, pointing towards a large, heavily damaged metal object with charred and burned orbs decorating its surface.

"I don't know, Twilight. We have very little idea what many of these things are, spare the obvious ones. And there isn't much we can do to change that fact either."

Rainbow moved away from what she was looking at, a primitive club of some sort with a rock tied to the end, and moved in front of Twilight, standing firmly in the princess' line of sight.

"And what are these...things?" she said as she looked up at Celestia, nodding her head back towards where Twilight stood.

Rather than simply answer Rainbow, Celestia cleared her throat and motioned for the other mares, as well as the little dragon, to come closer. They all complied.

"It may surprise you to hear that Captain Hector Barbossa is not the first creature to arrive here from another world. What you see around you are objects we believe hail from another world, or once belonged to creatures that actually did."

Realising she had lost the Elements' attention at the objects' description, Celestia once again cleared her throat and tapped her hooves on the marbled floor. The ponies focused immediately on the princess, while Spike's concentration was still lost on the objects.

"He is the eighth being we know of, and certainly the most amiable. As well as by far the most intelligent."

"Most amiable? Hector is one of the _nicest_?"

"Nicest is the wrong word to use, Rarity. While eight beings have arrived here from other worlds, there may be more we don't know about, and there are even less we've had a proper conversation with. Our world just seems destined to attract a lot of unwanted visitors."

"What do you mean?" Twilight asked.

Celestia paused for a moment, tilting her head to the side in order to let herself think. It had been so long since she had to think about any of this. It had been a good long while since any new creature had come to Equestria. At least, she thought it had.

"Have any of you heard of The Moonlight's Torment?"

Most of smaller ponies all shook their heads, save for Twilight, who moved forward and rapidly nodded.

"I have."

"Of _course_ you have..." Rainbow sighed.

Twilight glared at her rainbow-maned friend and pouted, turning back to the princess once she was sure Rainbow had received the message. She smiled as she held her head higher than usual, eager to impress.

"It's an old fairytale. A really old one. Ponies used to use it to scare naughty foals into being good."

"Do you know of the rhyme that was sung with it?"

Twilight shook her head this time, lowering ears slightly at the question.

"Not really. I never really looked into it, it was just something I read about when I was little."

She looked up at Celestia, who looked back before pulling her head away from the mares crowding around her.

"A beast doth dwell, deep within old castle town, who glimmers and shines by the Moonlight's power, and takes the wanton with dagger and claw, back to his nether tower. But ne'er the good, nor gracious at heart, or generous, true and kind. For the power he fears, above the sun, is the magic residing inside."

She never actually sung the rhyme, as one would sing a song. Celestia instead spoke it, talking as if she were indeed telling a naughty foal a bedtime story, lowering her head back towards Twilight at the mention of magic and its power.

"Of course, the original had different lyrics, and was considerably darker, but even I can't remember it in its entirety; the Equestrian language has evolved in the last nine or so centuries. But the message is still the same."

"And the 'Moonlight' refers to..." Rarity began.

"Nightmare Moon," Celestia continued after a breath, "The Torment may have been around long before, but it was only after Luna's banishment that he became more of a publicly known fairy tale."

"Does it matter when he was around?" Pinkie asked.

"To an extent," Celestia said, answering Pinkie, "While he is now called The Moonlight's Torment, that is only because it is the most popular name he went by. For a short while he was called 'Mistress Moon's Grand Executioner', and for an even shorter period he had the... less deserved title of the 'Fallen Sunshine'."

"And... he wasn't as nice as Hector?"

Fluttershy wavered as she spoke, visibly shaken by the mention of the more grievous names on the creature's record. Then the princess looked away from the mares, turning her attention to a curtain at the other side of the room, losing her smile and sense of ease when she did.

"No, he wasn't. He was harsh and ruthless with how he approached our kind. Any kind, for that matter. And sadly, he paid a price for it."

She then moved away from the group towards the back of the room, and towards the curtain she'd had her sights set on. A second or less of concentrated magic was all it took, and the large sheet of fabric came away to reveal a statue, much like anything else that could be seen from the castle's garden outside.

"He is also the main reason I wished to speak with you."

Walking towards the statue, the ponies let their eyes roam over the sordid form in front of them. It had the shape of a man, like their friend Hector, but the similarities thereafter were far and few.

It stood upright and ready for battle, with one arm raised in the air, a large weapon welded to its grip; a jagged stick ended with a large spiked ball and chain. His height matched Hector's, as did the shape, spare for the head. It was was slightly larger, longer and littered with scales. Long, sharp teeth crawled their way out of its wide mouth, and a long angler fish lantern forced its way from the creature's forehead. An eye to match its aquatic appendage sat on the right side of its face, but the other was different. It looked almost human.

Unlike a good number of statues outside, it also wore clothing. The clothes also seemed a lot like something Barbossa would wear; two large thick boots, baggy trousers and a torn, raggedy shirt, with puffy sleeves and stitching below the neck. All were cast in greyed, solid stone.

"He looks... uh..." was all Rainbow could manage, closing one eye as she stepped right up to the statue, looking at it from just below its uneven chin.

"Kinda fishy," Pinkie finished.

"And he had the smell to match, if I recall."

"What did he do then?" Spike asked, raising his claw to point at the statue, walking towards it while he did, "I mean, he doesn't look too friendly to begin with, but what did he do to get turned to stone?"

"A long list of things, if I'm being honest. But in the end, we gave him a choice, and offered him the chance to go back to wherever it was he came from."

"How did that get him turned to stone?" the dragon asked.

"By the time we had him cornered on the outskirts of the city, he'd already been with us at least a decade, if we go by when the legends began. And all that time he scavenged in the nearby forests for food, and he even ravaged nearby houses for supplies. Towards the end of his freedom, that also included the ponies inside."

The little dragon lowered his pointed claw, snapping it back to his sides as he wandered back towards Twilight and away from the statue. He stood behind her and kept his distance from the creature, despite it being for intents and purposes, just a statue.

"So, as I said, both Luna and I tried to reason with him; he used tools, and seemed intelligent as far as we could fathom. The only replies we got back were attacks or insults, some of which were more vulgar than I cared for. But he still understood us, to an extent, so we attempted to do what we have successfully done with Captain Barbossa; offer him safety, and a way back to where he belonged, and in exchange he would be out of our world, and no longer a threat to those who lived on it."

"And... it didn't work?" Fluttershy whimpered.

"No. He refused. He maimed my leg beyond recognition, killed three of my guards, four of Luna's and outright threatened us to let him stay. And as you can see... we let him."

"Doesn't sound like he had his head on straight," Rainbow muttered.

"I don't think he did. I honestly don't believe he was completely to blame for his actions, despite how barbaric they were at times. You had to hear him speak to know something was wrong with him."

"If he was going about killing ponies," Dash added, "that doesn't exactly strike me as something that can have an upside to it."

"Oh, I know. What he did can never be excused, and he was punished for it. However, on the final day during his struggle with us, he spoke of his reasons, even if it was only for a moment. He told us we could never make him go, now that he was free. Not back to the servitude. Not back to the pain," she said, emphasizing the name on her lips just as he had all those years ago, "Not back to _Davy Jones_."

Twilight looked back and forth between the mares around her and to the statue staring her in the face, jagged maw wide open and eyes piercing into her own. All the girls, and even Spike, appeared to be thinking along the same lines.

"Hector spoke of somepony called Davy Jones," the purple unicorn muttered in confirmation.

"Yeah. Barby said he was the _evil_ overlord of the piratey underworld," Pinkie added.

"And we get back to the reason I wished to speak with all of you. It had bothered me since Twilight mentioned the name in a letter and I wanted to know if he'd mentioned anything like the Torment to any of you during your time together."

All the mares looked to each other once again, one by one shaking their heads from side to side as they shared unknowing glances back towards the princess. Even Spike joined their motions, if only after asking if zombies counted, them being the only creature he remembered Barbossa talking about. Celestia didn't frown at the lack of information. Or at least, not as much as she thought she would. She wasn't sure if she expected anything from them at all.

"That is... a shame. Despite his nature and his deeds, he has sat here for over a millennia, and we still know next to nothing about him."

"Ain't ya better just on goin' an' askin' Hector yerself? Rather than askin' us for somethin' he may or may not have said?"

"I'm now planning to. I just wanted all of you to see him first. If they do indeed come from the same world, I don't know how he'll take seeing something from it turned to stone, or even if Captain Barbossa will recognise the creature at all. If he does react rather unfavourably, it would be nice to have you seven here to reassure him that he isn't in any danger."

Pinkie raised her hoof in the air, waving it with glee as she sat down on her other three hooves, receiving a smile and a nod from the princess for her childish actions.

"What's his real name?"

Celestia perked up her ears. Out of all ponies, she never thought of Pinkie Pie as the most astute. Maybe she'd have to change her way of thinking about the Elements; they often surprised her whenever she had the pleasure of talking to them.

"How did you know that wasn't his name?"

"Barby said they all had boring names where he comes from. Nothing like 'Torment' or 'Pinkie' or 'Fallen Sunshine' unless they made them up themselves."

"Well, you're right. It isn't his real name. The Moonlight's Torment is what he's known by today because that is the name he made for himself. We never did discover his real name."

Getting over the fact Pinkie had interrupted her own conversation with the princess, Applejack wandered closer to Celestia, even if she didn't have all that much more to talk about.

"So, it's basically goin' to be a hit or a miss? Showin' Hector the statue..." she clarified.

"More or less. There is no high chance he will know the Torment personally, but even so, I think the species looks identifiable enough for him to recognise it if there is a connection."

"C-couldn't..." Fluttershy squeaked, trying to recompose herself after hearing what the creature had committed, "Couldn't you ask one of the other creatures? You said there were eight."

"If that were so easy," Celestia stated, talking as if no such option was feasible, "While Barbossa and the Torment both somehow found their way into our world unharmed, none of the others were quite as lucky. Four fell from the sky without any way to soften the fall or fly to safety..."

An echo of winces spread over Twilight and her friends, a louder set of two coming from Pinkie and Fluttershy. In hindsight, if Hector hadn't fallen into Everfree, would they have ever met him at all? Would they have even found him? Even if he'd never stated how far he'd fallen, a lack of trees and shrubbery would have at least led to something breaking or tearing.

"Were they from Hector's world too?" Twilight asked.

"It's hard to say. They varied so much in shape and size. But none matched your friend in body, of that much I am certain. While some may have stood on two legs, the only one who closely resembled the human shape was, and still is, the Torment."

"And the other two? Did they make it?"

"No," Celestia said, lowering her ears, "they didn't. One was found starved and terribly dehydrated in a cave not far from where Appleoosa now stands, and the other had the... grave misfortune to run amidst the castle courtyard whilst my guards were on patrol. Needless to say, it didn't run around for very long."

The others lowered their ears now, Spike silently voicing his sympathies along beside them.

"The guards weren't punished; they were only doing their job. Quite a number of beasts did have the habit of wandering through Canterlot back in those days. And both incidents happened during eras when we were not as adept at healing magic. We tried our best, but neither of them lasted longer than a few days after we found them."

"So... Hector is the first to go home?" Fluttershy asked with a smile.

"Yes, he is, and we are very pleased about that fact. The others may have fallen victim to circumstance and terrible luck, the Torment included, but Hector Barbossa will go home, and live out his life as he was meant to."

"But still know about us?" Fluttershy added.

"Of course. He'll receive the best of both worlds," Celestia said, pausing, "Quite literally, it seems."

A nervous laugh spread over the group, dying away as quickly as it had arrived. They were happy for Hector, that he would get to go home, and live in his own world like he wanted. It was just that the prior talk of the statued creature and unlucky fates did not wash away as quickly as the positive thoughts came in.

"There is more I wish to discuss with you, but right now, I would like to speak to the esteemed captain himself. After I've had my talk with him, and possibly brought him here, we can finally continue in our efforts in getting him back home."

The ponies and Spike all nodded along with their princess, plodding out of the room as Celestia kindly ushered them forward. Most of the ponies were all too happy to leave. It not only meant that they would see their friend again, and help him get home, it also meant they'd be leaving the statue and its gruesome gaze behind.

Twilight was the last to leave, trotting behind Celestia as she strained her neck to catch simple glances at the smaller objects sat atop the alabaster podiums. A quick reminder of their next task stopped her curiosity getting the better of her, however. The objects were all well and good, but they would be here forever. Hector wouldn't.

Plus, he was her friend. She couldn't forget that part. A very angry, mysterious, meat-eating and alien friend, but a friend nonetheless.

The unicorn followed her friends outside into the hall, waiting for Celestia before all seven of them wandered back through the hallway that didn't exist and into the more recognisable parts of the castle. Namely, the areas Twilight knew were actually real.

Twilight couldn't tell when they left the non-existent parts of the castle, but she guessed that was sort of the point. If a new hallway suddenly appeared without merging with anything else, it would look rather suspicious. Celestia probably used some other spells to blur its location on top of that as well.

The silence of the walk ended when Pinkie asked, "Do you think he'll miss us?" as she hopped along next to her friends.

Rarity tutted under her breath, trying to cover it up upon the realisation that it had come out ruder than she honestly meant it to.

"I doubt it. He hardly seems like the kind to reminisce, especially when he doesn't seem too taken with us."

"But he might though. I'm going to miss having a pirate to talk to."

Rarity wished to point out the pink mare hadn't spent all that much time with Barbossa in the first place, but she chose to leave the conversation as it was. She was honestly surprised Pinkie hadn't run the pirate off his feet, given how she usually acted when a new face appeared in town.

The group turned the final corner, nearing the door Barbossa was waiting behind when something else greeted them instead. A guard was laying on the floor, blood streaking down his side as a large wound cut into his thigh, stretching up to his flank from just above his knee.

"What happened here?!"

Celestia ran ahead of the others, stopping to lean down when she reached the guard's side. He attempted to lift his head in her direction, only to give up part way through the act and lean against the floor instead.

"The pirate thing you left us with got out..." the guard admitted between deep breaths, "He was screaming and shouting behind the door. We opened it to check inside, then he kicked my face into the wall, stabbed me and... ran away. I think."

"Hector did this?"

Twilight's question fell on deaf ears as the mares just looked back and forth between each other, all of whom hushed up when Celestia spoke to the guard again. Spike still sat on her back, wondering what to do with himself as he squirmed at the sight of the stallion's injury.

"Where are the others I put on patrol in the hallway? Why didn't you call for help?!"

The questions seemed more like demands rather than kind queries, but neither the guard, nor anyone else present could really argue against her. It wasn't often that Celestia grew angry, and Twilight had only seen a couple of times. It was always too controlled, too calm to be actual anger. It was as if Celestia didn't bother showing any expression to let you know she was angry. You just did.

"You think we _didn't_ call for help?" he attempted a half hearted laugh, cringing when he looked back to whom he was actually talking to, "Nopony came when we did. Maelstrom and Cobblestone went after him, but I haven't seen them for about five minutes..."

The princess turned away from the injured pony, moving her head slowly from side to side as she examined the hallway; there weren't many choices he had when it came to running away, seeing as Barbossa only had left and right to pick from.

"Which way?"

"I don't _know_," he moaned, once again berating himself for forgetting who was asking, "I honestly don't know. I wasn't even seeing straight. They said they'd get... _him_, and get me some help, then left."

There was only two ways he could have gone. Both choices eventually led to more corridors, as well as a large number of possible rooms and potential hiding places. The hallway opposite to the one the seven mares had come from, however, also eventually led to Luna's "Room of Experimenting," the place she'd moved the portal.

"We need to find him," Celestia stated, "Quickly."

None of the ponies present disagreed with her.

"I wonder what's wrong with him?" Pinkie asked her friends.

"Regardless, he needs to be caught. If he wishes to make himself a threat, he shall have to be treated like one. And I need to check on Luna and the portal. If he's gone there, then we may not have to hunt him down after all. The rest of you please try and find him; he can't have gotten that far."

Everypony nodded, and with a shine of her horn, Celestia carefully lowered Spike onto the floor, letting him fall from her aura the final inch. He hit the carpet with a small thud.

"You stay with the guard. Captain Barbossa isn't likely to come back here."

Spike stood up to argue, sitting back down when he met not just Celestia's glare, but Twilight's as well. Resigning himself to his not-quite-as-exciting-as-looking-for-the-pirate fate, with the injured pony, the little dragon sighed. He sat down with another small thud and crossed his arms with scowl on his face, something the guard appeared offended about.

"Should we split up? The castle is pretty big."

The small group paused to look at Applejack. Twilight stopped to think before reluctantly nodding, looking up to the rest of her friends. Celestia had already galloped off down the hall in front of them, leaving everypony to their own devices.

"I suppose," Twilight admitted "But only into groups of three, anything smaller would just be idiotic if he's... angry at us."

Despite how often such tactics never seemed to work in fiction, it would help them cover a lot more ground than they could all at once. Going in groups smaller than three was also a stupid idea if he had a weapon on him. She didn't know what he had, but whatever it was seemed capable of doing quite a bit of damage.

All the mares nodded to one another, mixing into two fair groups and wandering down the hallway of their choice. Rainbow and Rarity joined Applejack to follow the hallway Celestia had sped towards, whilst Twilight took the rest of the girls back down the series of hallways they'd came.

Twilight knew the pirate couldn't have gone exactly the way they'd came, but there was a junction of sorts in the hallway, a three way choice that gave them one hallway they hadn't actually walked through. If he was anywhere in their direction, he would be that way. That is if he hadn't reached any stairs or wandered near the main entrance.

"I don't know what's wrong with him," Twilight muttered to Fluttershy and Pinkie, "I thought he was getting more comfortable around us."

Their search took them through any rooms they could find, which lead the three mares to check any space Barbossa was capable of fitting inside. They always checked one room at a time and splitting up inside it, but that tactic soon grew tiresome. Twenty minutes after their search had began and there wasn't even any clues for them to follow.

"Why is he doing this?!" What's he trying to do?!"

Pinkie turned around to face Twilight as they all wandered out of yet another bedroom. She cantered backwards with a smile as she answered the unicorn's question.

"Maybe he just got really, really bored. I know I would in a big empty room all by my lonesome self."

"Yes, he got really bored," Twilight mockingly agreed, "He got so bored, he decided to escape from the dining hall, attack a guard whose job it was to stop anypony getting _inside_ the room, and then led the other guards off to goodness knows where."

Regretting her less than kind outburst as soon as it had finished, Twilight hastily apologised to her friend, hoping she got in there before Pinkie began feeling guilty for even talking in the first place.

The three mares stormed into yet another room as they continued their search through the hallways. They repeated their tried and tested process, occasionally yelling Hector's name out loud in the hopes it would somehow tempt him out into the open.

As they all sighed at yet another fruitless search, the three mares wandered into the next room they could find, which happened to be a bedroom of some sort. It was decorated with fine furniture, like most of the other rooms, and had a rather large bed against the leftmost wall.

Pinkie ran for the bed first, looking under it and announcing, "Not under this bed either!" as she pulled herself over the mattress, clearing it in one leap.

The loud slam of the bedroom door caught the mare off-guard. Rather than stick the landing, she fell face first onto the marble floor, briefly shaking her head as she got to her hooves. Twilight turned to face Fluttershy, catching sight of her in front of the door itself.

"Hello, Miss Sparkle."

She wasn't there alone. Barbossa was there too, Fluttershy clutched just under the jaw by his left arm as he held a knife within the hand of the other, forcing it against the mare's neck as a small whimper escaped her lips.

"I must say, it's rather nice te be seein' the three o' ye again," he said, showing off his carnivorous front teeth with a large, sadistic grin.

The two other mares just stared at Barbossa, and then to the sight of their friend in front of him, hanging from the alien's arms. Twilight didn't look away, as much as she told herself she wanted to, if only to keep an eye on Fluttershy.

"H-help..."

Barbossa shook his arm around, causing another muffled squeak to escape Fluttershy's mouth as her body moved around the point where she was hung. Twilight didn't move, mouth hung slightly ajar as Pinkie moved her forehooves onto the bed, readying the leap over.

"I shan't be doin' that if I were ye, Pinkie Pie," he rasped, gently drawing shapes with his knife into Fluttershy's yellow coat, "Lest ye want te see what yer friends innards look like, ye'll be stayin' right where ye are."

She didn't hesitate taking her hooves away from the bed, slowly lowering herself down and taking another step back, just in case. The bearded man turned to Twilight next, still squeezing his prisoner tight.

"And there be no reason te try magicin' meself with yer powers. Ye take yer time castin' incantations, and can ye truly be sure yer horn's quicker than me wrist?"

As if to strengthen his logic, Barbossa pushed the blade against the pegasus's throat as the smallest trickle of darkened red appeared against her soft yellow coat. He continued to show off his teeth, this timewith a knowing grin as held the knife in place.

She was sure. No, Twilight was more than sure her magic was faster. She had some of the most powerful magic in Equestria, and she'd been praised for it. She was practically known specifically for her magical capabilities. But looking at Fluttershy, and the knife at her throat, she just... didn't feel like she was. She wasn't prepared for this.

All the times went through her head when she'd missed a spell. All the times when she was just ever so slightly off about how much power she could use, or how much was actually needed. All the times her spells had went catastrophically wrong. She couldn't outright freeze him in place either; his arm was still around part of her jaw. She just didn't want to risk it if the risk was even there. Not when her friend was the prize at stake.

"W-what are you doing?" Twilight managed to stammer, "Why are you doing this?"

"Ye have me weapons, and I be wantin' 'em back."

Twilight blinked, dizzily looking to the saddle bag on her back as she turned back to focus her eyes on the human.

"I told you we would give them back! I wasn't going to go back on what I promised!"

"Aye, well, the tides have changed, and so 'ave me goals and ideals. So it were on that notion that I decided a change o' plan were urgently needed te match those goals."

He once again motioned the knife closer to Fluttershy as he shifted his wrist to move the blade, never actually digging deeper. Only ever scratching the surface.

"But we were going to send you home! We told you," Twilight found herself begging, "Luna was preparing it for you!"

Twilight didn't want any of this. Out of all the things he was, Hector didn't feel like a monster. He certainly wasn't the kindest of beings, granted, but never a monster. Even after his previous attacks, it just didn't seem right. She never thought he'd ever go this far.

"And what then? Livin' me last mortal days in pain and poverty? Why would any man be daft enough te do that when he can live here?! A world suffocatin' under the jewels contained inside it! A world where the dangers of nature and the cold are kept in order! A world where one man and his hand is more than a threat te anythin' without magic adornin' it's head. Tell me, Miss Sparkle, why would I leave?"

"To see your crew! And rescue your friend, Jack! He's the whole reason you ended up here, isn't it? You still need to save him!"

"Jack?"

Barbossa began breathing harder, clutching the knife as his chortle rose from its meagre depths to a bellowing cackle, ending up in full blown laughter as the two free mares stared back at him, Fluttershy quaking under his strength.

"Why would I help that _bastard_? He shot me. He bloody killed me!" he said, suddenly calming himself with a smile, "And now he's dead."

The man continued to laugh, and for one of the few times since meeting him, Twilight thought he looked happy. Genuinely happy. And it was horrible.

"I may have wanted te save him once, but that time has passed. Me failed labour te restore his heart has led me here, and te the pompous bitch who knocked me unconscious, and te the land of naïve, infantile creatures content wi' doubtin' me own honours and mockin' the dangers I've survived!"

He thrashed his foot around, slamming it against the door behind him, causing more than just the mare in his grasp to quiver on the spot.

"It was through Jack's need for life I ended up here. And he can rot in his Hell while I live breathin' the splendour of the world I've uncovered. That's my pay for what he caused me; a world fit te plunder, and a world unready te fight back against it, as he lives through a never-endin' nightmare until the trumpets sound and Jones himself falls from power."

He once again stood his ground, keeping the knife against Fluttershy's neck. She was crying, bubbling away to herself with her eyes shut tight and her hind legs attempted to make what little contact they could with the floor.

"Now!" he bellowed, grabbing back the ponies' attention, "Me effects, Miss Sparkle. If ye'd be so kind?"

Choosing Fluttershy over any chance she rightly had to taking Hector down, Twilight nodded and let the bag fall from her back. She felt safer using her hooves to unpack the book from the bag, rather than taking the risk of levitating it out. The something hit her.

"I have to use magic to get t-them out for you."

Furrowing his brow, he looked down at Twilight and then to the book, slowly nodding towards her once, "Do as ye please, but any attempt te go against me wishes won't end in yer favour. Of that much I can assure ye."

Shakily nodding, Twilight began casting her spell to remove his belongings. She was so sure she could separate the two beings without him harming Fluttershy. She'd done far more powerful spells many times before, on creatures much larger too. But she wasn't perfect and even she got things wrong. She just didn't want this to be the one time when that mistake proved to be fatal.

Taking her time, Twilight cast her spell slower than she usually would have, even if Barbossa could never tell the difference. She watched as the occupied pages floated from the book and, one by one, they spun in swift succession over the floor until only the physical objects were left in their wake.

"Kick 'em over."

Doing as she was told, Twilight pushed his items and watched as they slid across the floor to the pirate's feet. Switching the knife into his other hand, Barbossa held the blade against Fluttershy's cheek as he returned the sword to its rightful place at his side. He did the same for his pistol and charges, hiding them deep within his coat.

"Now release Fluttershy!"

Smiling to himself, Barbossa ignored the request and pulled his sword back from his side. He slid it against Fluttershy's throat as he stored the smaller blade away, using the free hand to once again take hold of his hostage.

"Now _why_ would I be doin' that?" he innocently answered back.

The two free mares stared back, Pinkie smacking her forehooves against the floor from her position behind the bed. Twilight leaned forward, pushing herself to stop when she began moving towards Barbossa.

"Because you said you would if we gave your things back!"

"Ah, ye see, I never _said_ I would, so I hadn't the realisation that it were part of the negotiations. I assumed ye were goin' te let me keep her. Ye really should have made yersel' clearer about what it is ye were wantin'."

Moving himself backwards, he opened the door with his elbow and foot, using the former to push the handle down and the latter to pull it open

"But don't worry. She's me safe passage from the castle, so there'd be nothin' to be gained from killin' her..."

He pulled Fluttershy out the door, still smiling to himself as Twilight and Pinkie continued to stand there, unable to do anything. They didn't want to be reckless; Fluttershy was important, and one wrong move wouldn't do anything but trouble her. Even if it meant just... letting her go.

"...Yet."

The pirate laughed to himself, letting the door shut with a slight slam as he dragged his captive along through the hallways of Canterlot castle. His arm still held her tight, now grasping around her neck itself as the tips of her hooves struggled to gather grip on the floor and a sword poked at her stomach.

She could breathe. The significant lack of the floor beneath her left her completely within Hector's hold, something her neck wasn't comfortable with, but she could breathe. The blade scratched at her belly every few steps he took, ushering whimpers and tears from the mare in his company. She didn't know if she was bleeding, but if she was, she took little comfort in knowing it wasn't anything more than a cut.

"Quiet yer snivellin'! Yer in the safest position ye could hope te find yersel'!" he said in an overly jovial voice.

Still moving their way through the corridor, not quite sure where she was being taken, Fluttershy allowed herself to smile at the unmistakable sound of hooves beating against the stone floor and carpet coating the hallway. It was slow and casual, but there. Definitely there.

Breathing slowly as Barbossa stood his ground, keeping his stance on the floor, Fluttershy watched his eyes narrow at the sight of her friends: Applejack, Rarity and Rainbow. She watched as her orange friend smiled at the sight of the pirate, shifting her gaze to the pegasus and stopping where she stood, lowering her head and leaning forward barely half a second later.

"Fluttershy!"

Rainbow ran forward, jumping into a hover as Barbossa rolled his eyes and clicked his tongue against his teeth. He merely waved the sword against the pegasus in his hold, slicing away a few choice strands of her coat as he watched her take notice.

"Ye sure that's wise? Even if ye do fly in te me, what are the chances ye push the blade further down yersel'? Could ye live wi' _that_ on yer conscience?"

"I knew it! I knew we shouldn't have trusted you!" she retorted, hovering in the same spot before eventually landing herself on the ground, taking up the same stance and Applejack.

"Oh, me heart _bleeds, _Rainbow. Pity ye and the white harlot didn't take action sooner then! Ye might have averted this cruel state of affairs."

"Her name is _Rarity_!"

"Aye, I'll keep that in mind. An' I'll engrave it on her tombstone, te be sure."

"Oh, I do like your style!"

All action stopped in the hallway, save for the alien shuffling his arm at the whimpers and snivels that escaped from his prisoner.

The free ponies looked to the air in every direction, looking for the voice that seemed to come from all of them at once. Barbossa looked to the air for the source as well, albeit keeping a straighter and more composed face than the ponies had.

The creature to match the voice appeared in a flash of light, slowly fading into reality to the sound of a brass band and trumpets, playing notes lower and deep the more solid Discord became. The light eventually faded, and in its place the draconequus floated, holding a cardboard cut-out of himself, an image that had its arms held out in joy and stretching at the feeling of freedom.

"Isn't he marvellous?!" he exclaimed, folding the drawn caricature of himself into nothing, "He's so snarky and violent. It may be a tad excessive, but still."

The captain moved back against the wall, looking up to Discord and then to the ponies attempting to corner him further down the hallway. Fluttershy dared to look up to her captor, thinking it never once looked like Hector thought the god an ally. It seemed like he was just tolerating his presence.

The ponies not bound by the pirate stood there, wavering on their hooves about what to do, unwilling to claim which threat was more dangerous than the other.

"Oh, but here's the best part!"

Discord closed his eyes, lifting his arms high into the air as he pompously clapped his paw and claw together, summoning the moon as the sun lowered itself out of sight. The lights switched their duties and just as quickly as the change had come about, the moon began working its magic on the world below.

Clung tight below his arm, Fluttershy squealed and flailed her hooves for freedom as Barbossa began to change. She watched as his flesh rotted away, turning blue and grey to the sound of crumbling skin and the spoiling of his organs. His skin thinned, revealing the cracking bones and tendons beneath.

His clothes followed in the body's example, tearing and fraying with the passage of years that seemed to happen in the space of seconds and melting away as the moonlight crawled over the threads and fabrics he was wearing. The yellow mare in his possession dared to open her eyes once they had closed, seeing only the remains of his hand, barren and dead as it held the blade to her stomach.

"He turns into an undead pirate; two for the price of one! Three if you count him being an alien. Which I do, of course. He's like the gift that keeps on giving."

"Discord!" a unicorn's voice wailed through the hallway.

Barbossa pushed his body further back against the wall, clinging to it as Fluttershy watched Twilight and Pinkie appear from the hallway she'd been dragged. Twilight's bag had been abandoned, and both mares galloped faster and faster through the halls and past the moonlight glistening through each window.

Applejack and her group began trotting their way forward, moving at a slow pace and ready to move faster at a moment's notice. Hector saw them first, responding with a shake of his head as he poked at Fluttershy with his sword. Never drawing more blood, nor causing serious pain, but causing enough discomfort to their friend to get his message across.

"What have you _done_?!" Twilight screamed, feeling the fire burn in her eyes as she saw Discord, just floating there above Fluttershy without a care in the world.

"Not much, I'm afraid. Then again, it _is_ still early days," he replied, leaning his paw against the wall as he checked the non-existent nails of his talon.

The beings gathered around him in the hallway, most of whom held fury in their eyes as they switched their views from him to where the pirate stood, holding their kindest friend at rapier point.

Twilight spoke up first, talking when her friends were either too angry to do so, or seemingly too scared to do anything against Hector's threats.

"We turned you to stone."

"So I saw. A rather horrible business if you ask me. It can get so _frightfully_ boring inside those statues after a while. And they give you _such_ acrick in the neck too."

"You weren't in there for very long, " Rainbow answered back.

Scratching at his neck, and twisting it around in circles, Discord looked back down to Rainbow. He gave a little smile and a nod, his head rotating along with his spinal cord. If he even had one.

"I know. Lovely, isn't it? It feels rather nice to be on the receiving end of some good luck for a change."

"And what was this luck?" Twilight calmly asked, with only an edge of ire cracking at her voice with the hope not to give Discord the satisfaction he desired.

"You know, I wasn't quite sure myself until a little while ago. It was quite the nice end to my day actually. I saw two guards arguing about a creamed cake earlier, so you can only imagine how nice it was to have a small side of freedom on top of that."

The ponies all stood still, watching over Barbossa as Discord was almost forgotten in their worry. The god of chaos was one thing, but looking at their friend and the small cuts of red that were etched into her coat, they couldn't bring themselves to worry about something other than their friend's safety.

Rarity moved forward by single step, flaring her horn as it began to glow only for her efforts to be shut down moments later as Twilight screamed, "Stop, he'll hurt her!" at the top of her lungs across the hall.

"Best be listenin' te what yer friend has te say; there be more than just an inklin' o' logic te her claim."

Rarity obliged and moved back, further than she had stood before with her head held low. She wasn't ready to cast magic. She was just trying to make sure she wasn't doing anything else wrong.

"Oh, give him a bit more space than that," Discord said with a snap of his talons, "You don't want to see Fluttershy getting sliced in two, do you?"

Each of the free ponies slowly started to rise into the air, losing grip on the ground as each of them floated towards the ceiling. Pinkie flailed her hooves in attempt to swim, only to end up there with everypony else, somehow landing with her hooves touching the ceiling itself.

"Now, isn't that better? You can't possibly get close to him by accident. If anything, I helped you with your problem."

"You're the one that caused all this in the first place!" Twilight yelled from up above.

"If you want to try and get all technical with me, _he_ was the one to cause all of this," Discord returned with a smile, pointing towards Barbossa, "If it wasn't for your new friend, I very much doubt we would even be talking right now."

Twilight focused her eyes, cranking her neck up so she could look down to the floor from her position on the the ceiling. She stared directly at the skeletal Barbossa, who stood there with Fluttershy still in his grasp.

"How... how did you free Discord?!" she asked.

Of course the connection had occurred to her. What were the chances that Hector would start acting more violent at the same Discord reappeared? Even if he wasn't under some sort of spell, both creatures and their actions couldn't have been a coincidence. Could it?

Barbossa only answered back with a nonchalant shrug of his shoulders, still holding his blade to Fluttershy's stomach.

"Ye look at me and ask as if I have any idea of who that mismatched arse actually is," he deadpanned, "He can do as he bloody well likes as long as me own obligations ain't subsided in the process."

"Oh, that's hardly fair, Twilight Sparkle," Discord chided, ignoring the insult, "You can't just go around blaming the undead alien pirate for everything..."

Shifting in the air and standing on the same upside down plane as the ponies, Discord tapped his hoof on the floor. He smiled with glee as the ceiling began to move, acting as a fantastical conveyor belt for the ponies stood on it.

"I mean, if you did, you wouldn't be giving credit where it was due."

The draconequus sighed as Rainbow just hovered into the air, avoided the moving surface entirely. He primed his paw for clicking when Barbossa spoke out instead.

"Walk Rainbow!" he bellowed, nodding towards Fluttershy.

The cyan mare gritted her teeth, staring daggers at both beings before doing as she was told. She let herself fall to the ceiling, following her own personally warped sense of gravity as she galloped along the ceiling with her friends. Discord clapped as hands with glee, smiling like a child.

"What do you mean others wouldn't be getting their dues?!" Twilight asked between breaths, still trying to keep up with the surface that moved just that little bit faster than she could keep up with, "You said it was Hector!"

"If you must know, it was more to do with his magic than anything else."

"M-magic?"

"Oh yes; I've never seen anything quite like it. I couldn't even make it do what I wanted, which is pretty new for me, I'll tell you. After all, there isn't much that can't be swayed by yours truly. Makes you wonder how powerful the creatures in his world actually are."

But Hector couldn't use magic, Twilight found herself thinking. He'd never mentioned it, nor had he made in any effort to show that he could. And he'd even asked questions about the most basic of spells. Why would he suddenly have powers that they didn't know about? Unless...

"His coin..."

"But I'm guessing you would rather find out who helped the pirate set me free. They're quite the little scoundrel too, you know. If it wasn't for her, I'm not sure Hector Barbossa would have even come close to setting me free."

The others watched as Twilight grew silent, slowing down in her gallop as she began to stare down at the moving floor beneath her. Something that didn't go unnoticed by the creatures around her.

"Or maybe you already know who it is?" Discord asked, swimming in the air as he leaned closer to Twilight, "I'm just kidding. I can tell by your sombre look you already know who it is. Care to share the answer with your friends?"

Twilight didn't answer. She didn't even look up at Discord. Her pace slowed, going from a gallop to a mild canter as the moving floor pulled her back, bit by bit.

"No, it's okay; you take your time, my dear," he said, sounding genuinely kind, "It will only make the surprise all the more exciting when they hear it. I, on the other paw, must be on my way. I've got a couple of _lovely_ princess awaiting my return."

He landed on the floor with a tap of his hoof, materialising a sparkling blue suit into existence, complete with top hat and cane. A quick scratch at his nose allowed his fingers to pull a thin black moustache into existence to complete the ensemble.

He wandered over to Barbossa, lowering a paw into the man's shoulder and receiving a less than kind glare from the human in return. Fluttershy still hung under Barbossa's grasp, struggling to keep calm, but still finding the time to wonder how a creature with rotted bones and muscle could even hold her up at all.

"So I bid you adieu, my good little ponies. I would stay, but as always, I have some things that need seen to."

A tap of the cane against the floor summoned something else. A plume of confetti accompanied with pieces of cake and cream exploded into the castle, flinging itself to every inch of the floor and wall as Discord vanished beneath the messy illusion.

With Fluttershy and Hector alongside him.

**Authors Note:**

Wow, two months? Two whole months?! How is that even possible? I vowed to never go longer than five weeks without a post! I even had my backup plan!

Well, sadly, the backup plan wasn't a very good chapter, and chapter fourteen has gone through a lot of changes since its conception. And I mean a lot of changes. So many things could have been different here, and so many things were different at one point or another. I'm pretty sure Oogie Boogie was set to appear at some point...but everything has been finalised and improved now.

A massive thanks to Pata-K and DannyJ for putting up with my shoddy writing, and helping me actually improve it. I learned a lot rewriting this chapter, so thanks guys. An epic thumbs up to the both of you!


	15. Two Hornpipes

**Chapter 15: Two Hornpipes**

Pintel and Ragetti continued to sit on the shores of Jones' Locker, hoping either one of the men they were waiting for would actually turn up. At the very least, they hoped Jack would show his face, then they could leave. But the two crewmen still held onto the hope that their old captain would return, if only just so they didn't have to leave the damned landscape one memorable man short.

The other men present seemed less inclined to wait for both. Many just wanted to leave the place that they seemed destined to wait inside for an eternity, even though there was a set time limit. The time limit itself also seemed to be the reason why many of the Chinese were worried. Those who knew the witch instead chose to trust her judgement. If they wanted Jack back they had to.

"What you suppose them two are talkin' about?"

Pintel spoke to Ragetti with an air of curiosity, pointing towards Will and Elizabeth. The two lovers were sat to the pirates' far right, talking to each other near the water's edge. Tia Dalma sat slightly closer, hoisted atop the rock and chanting whenever she threw smaller stones onto the sand. The rest of the men were scattered around the shore, some of whom were attempting to play games with an incomplete deck of cards.

The Chinese all sat together, however, talking in their own language and drawings shapes in the sand for entertainment.

"I reckon Mr Turner's gone and found out 'bout somethin' little Lizzie don't want 'im knowin'," Ragetti answered, folding his arms into his chest.

Pintel pursed his lips and nodded. He continued to scratch Jack the monkey, who had been sat in his lap since the witch had finished her explanation on Barbossa's whereabouts. It had only been around twenty minutes, so he was none too bothered by the little monkey's presence. He found it somewhat soothing, even if he knew the creature couldn't feel anything when being touched.

"Somethin' sordid, no doubt. She ain't been too good with 'erself these days."

"Yeah, not too good," was all Ragetti said in response, giggling to himself as he remembered the free show he'd received at the bath house.

Despite the laborious act of waiting, everybody present seemed to be coping. Then again, it had only been little over an hour since they'd arrived.

Most people agreed it was more not knowing than the actual waiting that had them bothered. Even without asking, Pintel and Ragetti could tell that. And with Barbossa now missing, some men were a little on edge, worried that they too would be taken away by whatever it was that snatched up the captain.

"Where you suppose Barbossa is then?" Pintel asked.

It was about the only thing most of the men were talking about. Even the Chinese could be heard muttering his name every now and then.

"Don't know. Can't really imagine other worlds."

Pintel had to agree. The only other worlds he could think of were Heaven and Hell, and if Barbossa was in either of them, it was unlikely to be the former.

"Can't be too good if it's gone and taken Barbossa though. The world, I mean," Ragetti added.

Pintel once again nodded his head. He and his nephew weren't really the intelligent sort, but Ragetti was still prone to the odd philosophical thought every now and then. It was sometimes interesting to hear what he had to say about a given issue.

"You think he's dead then?" Ragetti asked, raising his brow and allowing his wooden eye to roll around in its socket.

"Could be. Takes a lot to kill the captain though."

Pintel then soon found himself struggling to hold the monkey in place. Jack was scratching around and prying himself away from the pirate's grasp. He was close to succeeding despite being a good deal smaller.

"What's up with 'im?"

Pintel threw his nephew a gruff frown in response, still trying to hold the monkey down.

He wasn't quite sure why he wanted to keep Jack in place, but seeing as the monkey couldn't feel anything, he couldn't see why the petting should have been a problem.

"Don't know. He just started getting' all shifty."

"Eager te get away, ain't he?"

Struggling to hold the slippery creature within his grasp, Pintel finally let go when he received a long, swift scratch to his arm. Feeling the pain, the pirate didn't hesitate to grasp his wound, losing Jack in the process.

"Bugger it!" he yelled out.

Squeezing onto his forearm, Pintel simply sat there with Ragetti as they watched Jack scamper away. Then the chubbier man' mind finally caught up to him and his eyes widened.

"Catch him!"

His yell didn't go unheard by the rest of the crew, but few turned to face them. Ragetti and Pintel were known for being troublesome, and there had to come a time where they said "no" to whatever it was they were planning or causing.

Shakily nodding, Ragetti gave chase, passing his uncle and leaving him to catch up

"If we lose the captain's pet in the Locker, he'll have us drawn and quartered!"

"What if he's dead? He can't do nothin' to us then," Ragetti replied.

"Aye, well, I ain't takin' that chance. He'd meet us in Hell if it meant gettin' us paid for somethin' we did."

Rather than waste energy talking back, Ragetti continued to chase after the small monkey, who'd ran quite far ahead despite his size.

Jack was running further into the Locker. While the men and women were waiting on one end of the beach, the small monkey was hopping and sprinting down towards the other. There was nothing in that direction. Only more sand, and the same lifeless sea.

If anything else was present in the Locker, it was concealed by huge dunes of sand stretching higher and higher the further inland you went. And sadly, that's was the direction Jack was taking.

The little monkey had reached a small dune, and despite how far they'd come already, Jack seemed happy enough running up at a rapid pace. Pintel and Ragetti stopped for breath, sighing when they looked up to see where they had to climb next.

"Bloody... immortal... monkey..." Pintel wheezed, hauling himself up the sandy bank, a good deal further back than his friend and even more so behind the monkey.

He would have nothing to do with the curse again, but he had to admit the abilities it gave you were more than helpful. Durability, invincibility, and a slight increase in strength; that was something a man could hope for. But the lack of feeling made those values completely undesirable. He was a man who loved his food, and a decade without it was more than he could take.

But there was no point complaining. He was mortal and tired, sure, but the lifeless state he had lived through was a torture more despised.

As he reached the top of the dune, having long since seen Ragetti disappear over the edge, Pintel hauled himself over with just a little bit of difficulty. He then proceeded to fall over, tumbling down the other side as he failed to grab hold of anything. He landed at the bottom, spitting out a mouthful of sand as he wearily looked around.

Ragetti was a few dozen feet ahead, wrestling with Jack on the ground.

Heaving a sigh of relief, Pintel pushed himself to his feet, wandering over to his friend and the undead monkey.

"Hey..." was all he could manage before putting a hand on Ragetti's shoulder.

Ragetti didn't answer.

"At least ye caught th' bugger—"

Pintel cut himself off as he looked into the lankier pirate's face, and then to the direction it was facing.

"Bloody hell..."

There was... something in front of them. There was no way to fully describe it. It was as if there was a shapeless layer of water in front of their eyes, sparkling and shimmering away as it floated in mid air. Looking through it was also like water. The scenery on the other side was disrupted.

The two pirates blinked and strained their eyes. Although it was a good few feet in front of them, it was definitely there. They couldn't deny that.

They slowly walked towards it, with Ragetti still holding Jack in his arms. The monkey was still struggling against his captors, seemingly attempting to get towards whatever it was they were looking at.

"What you suppose... _that_ is then?" Pintel asked, slowly reaching out his hand.

Ragetti didn't answer. He just shrugged his shoulders, still not entirely sure how to approach the situation.

As the two men walked towards the glittering form ahead of them, Ragetti lurched back in pain as Jack slashed at his arm. Clutching at his forearm as it began to bleed, Ragetti watched as the monkey scampered away from them, and through the glittering anomaly.

Standing there, unsure of what to say, the two pirates merely looked at each other with unsure and unintelligent looks on their faces.

"You see..." Ragetti sighed.

"Aye..."

"And Jack... he's..."

"Aye..." Pintel once again answered.

Still feeling a bit dumbfounded, they hesitantly walked further towards what they assumed was a portal. Slower than they had previously, they reached out their hands. At least until Pintel suddenly pulled back his arm before contact was made.

"What are we doin'?!" he said, flailing his arms in the air and pointing towards the obvious. "How do we know that thing ain't dangerous?"

"More dangerous than Barbossa?"

Pintel retracted his statement, remembering that they had, in fact, likely just lost their captain's pet. One of the only things he appeared to actually care about too.

"Point taken."

Slowly inching their hands towards what could possibly be a portal, both men suddenly stopped, allowing each other the pleasure of going first. Neither man took the offer.

"I dare ye te go first..."

Ragetti didn't reply. He just looked between the chubbier pirate and the shimmering light. He had been duped into idiotic acts more than once, and for once he didn't feel like falling for it.

"I'll give ye a silvery penny if it hurts."

Happier with the offer, and the prospect of having a silver penny to spend, Ragetti smiled, dramatically waving his hand in the hair and slowly moving it towards the anomaly. As let his hand touch the shimmering form, Ragetti watched as his fingers vanished from view, and then after he pushed further, his wrist. Pintel stood there, tensing his fingers as Ragetti flexed his own, attempting to prove to himself that they were indeed still there.

Nervously smiling, Ragetti pushed more of his arm through, still flexing his hand around. Pintel licked his lips and lowered his eyes before pushing his own hand through and wiggling them around in mid air.

"Don't seem... too bad," was all he said.

He looked up to the taller man as he swirled his arm within the void, waving it around as if his arm was elbow deep in a pool of water. The shimmering light even reacted the same way too. At least, it looked like it did.

Ragetti nodded, still none too sure what to expect. But hoping to get the ordeal over and done with, he pushed himself through, yanking on Pintel's collar.

As he pushed forward, Ragetti misplaced his feet, falling down a three sets of steps as Pintel did the exact same. They landed on a hard, marbled floor, gazing up to see where they'd arrived moments later.

It was a room. A big room, for that matter. The walls were a light shade of beige, and the ceiling wasn't that different. A chandelier was hanging from the ceiling, with a good few candles still burning away inside. Like anything a noble would be proud to have in their home.

But while the room appeared to be somewhat elegantly designed, everything that sat inside it seemed more like implements of science rather than that of art. Large tables were against the walls, scuffing them in places, and papers littered the space on top.

Strange devices sat proud on the tables as well, and metal boxes of varying sizes were on the floor, each making noises and doing things neither man could fully comprehend.

Dozens of books lay forgotten across the floor, a select few of which were sat open around the stairs leading up to light they'd just came through. It was a small, circle set of stairs with the portal floating eerily at the top.

"Least we know it's a portal now..." Pintel sighed.

Looking passed all the mess and metal debris, Pintel got up, helping Ragetti to his feet. While the room was a mess, there was also something of greater interest there. A small monkey at the door, scratching and carving his way into the wood while he hung from the door knob by his tail.

"Found 'im!" Pintel cheered, slapping Ragetti in the chest and pointing with his other hand.

Reaching the door, Ragetti picked Jack up by the collar of his shirt, holding him in the air as he moved his fingers over the gashes now present in the mahogany woodwork. Pintel looked at the floor, kicking the loose shaving and splinters with his shoe.

"He's done a right number on the door."

"Aye, and he were only here a minute," Ragetti replied.

"What you suppose we should do now then?"

Pintel thought it was an appropriate question given the situation. Barbossa had apparently been taken to another world, and now his pet monkey had led them to one. He wasn't the smartest man, but he knew those two events weren't likely to be coincidental.

"I reckon' we should keep goin'," Ragetti answered, seemingly staring past the large door.

"Lookin' for the captain?"

Ragetti nodded.

"Aye, we have Jack," he said, grabbing firmly at the monkey's waistcoat. "We can use 'is lead te find Barbossa."

Looking back over is shoulder towards the portal they'd came through, Pintel spent a few moments considering his options

"Ye think he'll reward us?" he asked.

"If I were saved from another world I'd be rewardin' the ones doin' the rescuin'."

Confidently smiling, the rounder man nodded his head, pushing down on the door handle with both arms. The thing was stiff, and was likely the reason the little monkey hadn't gotten away from them yet.

Waiting for his nephew to leave the room, Pintel smiled again as he watched Ragetti shake Jack around, paying the thing back for taking them to the ends of an earth and into a completely new one.

One he'd stopped, the monkey continued to try and clamber out of his holder's grasp. He always tried to move in the same direction.

"See? We can follow whatever ways he's wantin' te go. Shan't be to hard te find Barbossa, me thinks."

Pintel looked down at the monkey, not sure if he was convinced that their tactic would actually work. Deciding it was at least worth a try, he waved Ragetti forward, allowing him to lead the way.

"Famous last words, Ragetti. Famous last words."

"I knew we shouldn't have trusted him..."

Twilight lowered her head, still mulling over what had transpired over the last few hours. She sat with her friends in the palace gardens, tired after their trek through the castle. It was easy enough to get off the ceiling, given there was no longer a pirate threatening to gun them down, but searching through the castle for any trace of Fluttershy proved to be more difficult.

She wasn't anywhere to be found. Nopony was. Even after an hour or so of searching, they were no closer to finding their friend and her captors. Celestia and Luna weren't in their usual places either, and not a single guard was roaming the halls. Even Luna's guards had disappeared.

It didn't help that the castle seemed determined to misbehave. The hallways had twisted and turned around at irregular angles, and the doors thought it would be funny to shift out of the way whenever somepony went to open them.

"Did you see the smile on his face? I never thought anyone could find such fun in being so horrid..." Rarity hissed.

Given the state of the castle, the mares had expected the outside world to be in an even worse state. Chocolate falling from the sky, brooms dancing in the courtyard and maybe even a flying grizzly bear wearing a fez.

When they finally found themselves wandering into the garden, they saw none of that. The birds still sat in the trees, the clouds floated through the sky just as they had done since the day they were made, and far as the mares could tell, everypony in the city below was going about with their daily lives.

"Speaking of his face, he seemed pretty happy considering how rotten it was! I mean, you could see his _skull_ and everything!"

Pinkie and Applejack were being quiet, listening to Rarity and Rainbow lower the reputation of the being they couldn't find the heart to stand up for.

"I didn't notice it..."

Twilight regretted her words the moment they had left her lips. The others turned to stare at her, two of whom furrowed their brows. The unicorn composed herself, taking a deep breath before she spoke again.

"It happened to me, and I didn't even see it. I didn't even feel it," Twilight elaborated. "I didn't really feel anything."

"And we have no idea what he's going to do with Fluttershy..." Rarity added.

"But... has... _he_ really done anything?"

"You saw what he was doing!" Rainbow reminded her, waving her hoof in the air.

"Yes, but was it _really_ him? Discord made all of you do strange things when he was here last time. What's to say he hasn't done the same to Hector?"

Rarity prepared to talk back, to emphasise her own view on the matter, before pausing and lowering her ears in realisation.

"I mean, if he wanted to hurt us, _really_ hurt us, why didn't he do it when he was with Fluttershy? Or alone with me or Spike?"

Rarity kept her ears lowered, thinking it over. As much as she disliked the human for hurting Fluttershy, she couldn't deny it all seemed rather sudden. And far too coincidental.

"And... he did help get Sweetie her cutie mark..." she mumbled to herself.

"And he told me and Twilight," Pinkie complained, "he wanted to stay here now. He's been moaning about leaving the whole time he was here!"

Everypony nodded at Pinkie's statement, Rarity and Rainbow included. For all he was doing and had done to them, it did seem out of place. While he was certainly violent, he wasn't dense enough to act even more so just before he was about to get exactly what he wanted; the chance to leave.

"What should we do then? Just keep looking for them?" Rainbow asked, honestly.

"Yes, but I have no idea where to start. Discord didn't even leave us any clues to go on..."

Twilight tapped her hoof against the grass, rather more eager to get back to their search. The events weren't convenient, nor were they pleasant, but they still had to try. Even more so, given the purple unicorn felt somewhat responsible for what was happening.

But she didn't have time to dwell on that. A scream pierced the air, coming suddenly from the city below.

Moving their heads towards the noise, the five ponies wordlessly looked to each other and nodded, making their way towards the shrill noise. They didn't know what was going on, or whether it was even Discord or Hector, but they couldn't leave it be. If somepony was in danger, they had to see if they could help.

Following the source of the sound, Twilight took lead of her friends as they charged down the path, away from the castle. The path was wide, and after a few hundred metres began to move down a hill and into the city below. A small portion of Canterlot actually rested on the steep incline, until it flattened out and lead into the rest of the city.

More screams came on top of the first, urging the group on. Though once they were close enough, they didn't need to go any further to know why ponies were screaming. They were honestly surprised they hadn't seen it from the gardens.

"Is that..." Applejack started.

"A _pirate ship_?" Rainbow and Rarity finished in unison.

A large, black ship was piloting its way over Canterlot. It was like something from a story book. A vast, black, wooden ship, with a tall mast and ebony tattered sails, flying a black and white flag from its very peak. Cannons jutted out of the ships side while more sat ready and waiting on-deck.

The five ponies ceased their run taking in the bizarre sight before them until they carried on. Arriving in the nearest streets of the city, still moving down the incline, it soon became clear that not everypony was screaming. Some just stood there in awe, staring up at the ship floating in the sky, whilst others began galloping towards it.

Following the steadily growing crowd, and growing tired, Twilight yelled, "Rainbow! Fly up on deck! See if Hector and Fluttershy are there!"

Nodding, and showing off a sly grin, Rainbow ran faster. Flapping her wings, the pegasus lost no speed as she elegantly lifted from the ground. Approaching from where she had set off, she made a straight for the ship's port side. Or what she thought may have been the port side. She called it left.

With her forehooves out in front of her, Rainbow gained speed until she was finally high and near enough to the ship to see those sailing it.

"What the...?" she uttered, confused.

The men on deck glared back at her, wicked smiles plastered on each of their identical faces. Every one of them stood there, stopping their designated duties for a moment to simply look and watch. Each one of them with the same face. Barbossa's face.

And as Rainbow drew closer, she regretted flying so near the ship. Each of the identical pirate's began to laugh, but another simply stood there with his arm raised in the air. The pegasus wasn't the most intelligent pony, but she guessed he wasn't waving at her.

"Fire!"

Widening her eyes, Rainbow deftly pulled herself up, straying from her intended course. It wasn't until after she realised the cannon fire wouldn't have hit her. They weren't being aimed at her.

Breathing heavily, more out of surprise than anything else, she watched as the small number of cannon balls ploughed their way to the city. Contrary to her belief, there was no explosion or fire. They just smashed their way through buildings, horribly splintering the wooden ones and cracking the ones made from stone.

Surprised to see a pirate ship firing shots at Canterlot, Rainbow continued to hover in mid-air, still trying to work what she was going to do. The men took a moment to stop and stare at her, forgetting their duties, but soon going back to them.

The same man that had done so before lifted a single arm into the arm. She could swear he was smirking at her.

"Once more!"

All of the cannons fired this time. Both sides of the ship destroyed what little silence there was left in the city as smoke wafted from the weapons. Too high to be hit, Rainbow just watched in horror as even more buildings crumbled to the ground. Those that still stood after the barrage were mere husks of their former, pristine selves. Dust plumes coated the air where they once stood.

The Barbossa commanding the crew looked up again, smiling directly at Rainbow with his head lowered and his large hat hiding most of his forehead. She had hovered closer, almost subconsciously, wanting to see the alien responsible for all this before she left. It only then occurred to her that out of all the men there, he was the only Hector wearing his trademark hat.

"Ye seem lost Rainbow!" he finally yelled, the sounds of the cannon and what they had caused dying down. "Not used te yer sky bein' shared?!"

Rainbow didn't answer, still working out what she wanted to say. She didn't really know what she wanted to do. Was it even worth talking to him, given what Twilight had said? Did she want to in the first place?

"Because it pulls at the strings o' me heart te inform ye that the world above is under new management."

The Barbossa clicked his fingers, and as he did, those gathered behind him moved into action. Each of them pulled a pistol from beneath their long coats, waving it in the air and pointing it straight towards the lone pegasus. Each weapon was as identical as the men holding them.

Diving back towards the ground, she glided through the city as she heard Hector laughing behind her. She didn't try to think about how many of him were actually adding to the noise as she looked for her friends. There was a distinct lack of ponies wandering around now compared to how many there were when she had left the ground.

Searching for the only ponies who were still running towards the ship instead of away from it, Rainbow landed with a thud in front of her friends, spreading her wings wide.

"I _really_ don't think you want to go up there."

"What? Why? What's wrong?!" Twilight asked.

Not too sure why the ominous floating pirate ship and the destruction it had just caused wasn't bad enough, Rainbow continued.

"Hector's on board, but there's way more than just one of him! And they all have pistols! And cannons!"

"We saw the cannons, dear. They weren't hard to miss," Rarity added, sadly motioning her head towards a shattered set of buildings just within view.

"What was that about Hector?" Applejack asked.

"There are a lot of humans on that ship. And they're _all_ Hector. Like..." She was trying to think of a good comparison. "Like human shaped changelings."

The cannons fired again, destroying whatever buildings happened to be in their way. If the ship had stayed dormant, the damage could have been reduced. But with every inch it moved through the sky, a new set of targets came into range. And the cannons had just destroyed them.

The ponies winced at the carnage, and Rainbow ran with the her friends as they charged towards the ship.

A few stray ponies ran past them, looking over their heads as dark laughter began emanating from the ship, carried by the sheer amount of human beings cackling on the deck. The ponies in pursuit of the pirates finally reached the ground below the ship. It was a wide street, much like everything else in the city.

The vessel was slowly lowering towards the ground. It was still above the buildings, though lower than it had been previously.

One Hector peered over the edge of the ship, casually leaning on the railing as he stared at the only ponies in the nearby vicinity. It was the one wearing the hat, and he spoke to them, yelling from on high.

"Ye've impressed me. I were beginin' te assume the tales told about ye were nothin' more than a tale told te children at bedtime! But bravery won't be savin' ye now."

"What are you d_oing_ Hector?!" Twilight shouted back.

"What I want, Miss Sparkle. Makes a stark contrast te what I've been bound te do for the last week o' me long life."

"And you want to _destroy_ Canterlot?!" she replied.

The Barbossa didn't answer back, choosing to stand at full height instead. Twilight couldn't tell, given how far he was from herself, but she was sure he was smiling at what he saw.

"Denizens of the ponylands, heed the words o' a humble captain!" he said, his voice reaching whoever was left to hear it. "I am here today te make ye a most gracious and fair offer!"

Twilight could see a small number of ponies out of the corner of her eye, either hidden inside buildings or scurrying down a connecting street. If she had to guess why they were still nearby to hear what Hector was saying, she assumed it would be because most of them were attempting to escape the cannon fire. You couldn't get hit by it directly under the ship, after all.

"I merely ask fer the wealth o' yer land! The precious jewels, gems, metals and artefacts that ye hold dear te yer grubby little hearts!"

Those few ponies kept moving. They listened, some out of curiosity and some out of fear, but they listened.

"How in tarnation is that fair?!" Applejack objected.

"Because in return ye'll live te see the days ye've yet te have. Where I come from that most definitely comes under the definition o' 'fair'."

"Your world doesn't seem to have very much inside it that sounds fair!" Rainbow shouted. "And what makes you think you're going to get away with this?"

"Yeah!" Pinkie added, for no other apparent reason other than to join in.

"Ye wish te stop me then?!" he said, laughing. "Ye'd best start prayin' for a miracle."

"And why's that?!" Rainbow asked

As if on cue, the sky darkened, and the moon rose high into the sky, stopping at a great height behind the pirate ship. The moonlight shone through the tattered and worn sails, creating beams of light that rested on the deck and over its crew.

The sickening sound of flesh rotting away was all that could be heard for those split seconds as the captain stood there, resolute and deprived of what made him alive. He was a living corpse, and the rest of the crew stood behind him, cheering, though apparently untainted by the moonlight or the effect it had on their captain.

"Because not even Death himsel' has sway over me now. And if I'm beyond _his_ reach, I can't say I see yer own attempts fairin' any better."

**Author's Note:**

Not quite two months, but I'm still annoyed the chapter is out this late. But life is like that, and other stuff has needed my attention this month. Either way, the chapter's here now! And I know it's shorter than some previous chapters, but there wasn't much I wanted to drag out here.

Oh, and I know some people aren't so keen on Discord as a villain in stories, but he's one of the aspects I've in mind for this story since the start, and there's a few big reasons for that. But we'll get to that in another chapter.


End file.
